When Darkness Falls
by apathyempathy
Summary: PezBerry. Santana turns up on Rachel's doorstep after being kicked out by her Dad, homeless and broken - can Rachel be the one to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go, a new PezBerry. This one does tackle some issues of abuse and homophobia but it's much lighter than my last fic! **

**Basically set the summer after season 2 and Nationals BUT…Rachel and Finn didn't get back together, so on-stage kiss. New directions still came in 12****th**** (not that it is particularly relevant) and if you need a new reason for that instead of the Finchel kiss let's say it was because they didn't write the songs till the night before and frolicked around New York the whole time instead. Also, Britney and Artie stayed together even after Santana sang songbird (I don't want to live/write in a world where that didn't happen) but after Santana doesn't turn up for Fondue for Two, Britney forgives Artie and they go back to being a couple.**

**Okay and if you are still with me after that, here's chapter one.**

When Santana showed up on Rachel Berry's doorstep at two in the morning, she wasn't sure who was more surprised to see who.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go." the Latina whispered, her eyes cast down at the floor as she half-expected the smaller girl to slam the door in her face.

She could feel Rachel's eyes boring into her, her gaze taking in her quickly blackening eye and busted lip. She knew the singer was probably drawing her own conclusions so Santana stayed quiet as the seconds ticked past.

"My Dad's are asleep, so you need to be quiet."

Santana barely managed to contain the look of shock that flashed across her face and she was almost reluctant to leave the shadow of the porch to enter the Berry house where she knew she wouldn't be able to hide.

"Santana…are you coming?"

The concern in the singer's voice snapped Santana from her trance and she finally stepped over the threshold. She waited for Rachel to shut and lock the door behind her, before following the smaller girl upstairs. As they entered her bedroom, Rachel flicked on the light making the Latina flinch at the brightness.

"Jesus, you're soaked." the petite girl murmured as she grabbed a nearby towel.

"It was raining." Santana replied, her brain numb to the obviousness of her statement as she added "I didn't have a coat."

Rachel frowned as she carefully took the overnight bag the ex-cheerleader was clutching and placed it on her desk. When she turned around again Santana was still stood in the middle of the room, her eyes boring a hole into the floor as she lost herself in her thoughts. Not wanting to riffle through the other girls possession's Rachel picked a spare pair of sweats and a tank from one of her draws and placed it with the towel, holding them out to Santana she offered a smile "Here, you'll catch a cold if you stay like that. My bathroom is just through that door."

Barely raising her stare from the floorboards Santana took the items from Rachel and shuffled her way into the bathroom. Once inside she let out a loud sigh, she couldn't believe her night had turned out like this; hidden away in the bathroom of a girl who obviously hated her. But what choice did she have? No-one else would have taken her; she was still surprised Rachel didn't simply ignore her knock and pretend to still be asleep.

Shucking off her wet clothes Santana let out a loud hiss of pain as she felt her muscles contract sharply. She didn't need to look down to know there was bruising springing up over her torso. Quickly drying herself off she pulled on the borrowed clothing, her mouth curling in a small smile as the sweats hung a few inches too high, before cramming her things into a ball and heading back to the bedroom.

When she re-appeared she threw her things down with her bag and took her first real look at Rachel's room. It was bright that was for sure, and happy, a stark contrast to her own room that rarely saw any of the kind of cheer adorning the singers walls.

"I…um…I brought you an ice-pack." Rachel said, drawing the Latina's attention "For your...erm…face."

It should have been fun to see the normally calm and collected girl flustered but all it did was make Santana feel insanely awkward. Trying to hide her discomfort Santana took a few steps over to the bed and sat next to Rachel, taking the ice-pack she held it to her lip wincing at the pressure.

They sat in silence for a while, Santana alternating the ice between her eye and her lip and Rachel trying desperately to sit still. The Latina was just starting to make a bet with herself over how long Rachel could stay quiet when the singer spoke.

"Are…are you okay?" the singer whispered, her voice tight as she turned to face the other girl "I mean, I know you're hurt…but it's not, you're okay right?"

Santana would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked. She had expected Rachel to quiz her about what happened and why she had turned up so randomly, she was prepared for anger and hostility, but instead the diva was actually showing genuine concern for her. It was weird, twilight zone weird. And for some reason, she kind of felt like she owed the other girl an honest answer but before she could think it through her defensive side sprung into action "Of course I'm fine Berry, seriously…it just a black eye. No big deal."

She didn't need to look at Rachel to see her recoil at the harshness of the words, and she instantly hated herself for snapping at the one person who was helping her.

"Oh, right. Well that's good…I guess."

Santana sighed, if she didn't feel bad before the hurt laced in the diva's words really brought it home "Look, I didn't mean to snap or whatever. It's just been a really, really bad night."

Rachel knew it was the closest to an apology she was going to get, "It's okay."

"Aren't you going to ask me what happened?" Santana queried, her eyes staring back at the floor.

"If I asked, would you tell me?"

Santana let out a bitter laugh as she looked up, she wanted to make a quip, in fact she was expecting her brain to have already formulated some sarcastic response but she came up empty when she met concerned eyes. Faltering, Santana look a deep breath before mumbling "I…It doesn't matter."

"You can trust me you know." Rachel replied as she reached out slowly to take the now melted ice-pack and tossed it in the bin, "I mean, you don't have to tell me but if you wanted to…I'm a good listener, given the chance."

The diva's words hung in the air as Santana studied the other girl. She and Rachel had never been close, hell they had never been anything other than enemies before glee club but they had built a somewhat tenuous friendship over the past year or so. Granted, most of that was spent insulting each other or picking bizarre moments to stick up for the other one but still Santana had to admit the singer had grown on her. After all, there had to be some reason why she came here tonight, some part of her that trusted the singer.

"You won't tell anyone?" Santana suddenly muttered, her body tense as she fought against her natural instinct to flee "I mean if I tell you that…that I'm not okay?"

Rachel shook her head, her face serious and devoid of any hint of the gossip-y drama queen Santana had seen before.

Taking a deep breath Santana focused her gaze across the room and let the words tumble from her mouth "He was so fucking angry Rachel, I mean he gets angry all the time but I've never seen him like that before."

Turning to face the diva she saw the confusion on her face and before Rachel could ask any questions, Santana sighed and with a small grimace she added "My Dad."

Rachel hesitated, her mind spinning as she tried to process what her friend was saying "Wait. Your Dad did this to you?"

Santana nodded, she could feel tears sliding down her cheeks and wiping them away she let out a defeated sigh "It's never been this bad before-"

"That's not an excuse Santana." Rachel half-shouted her mind whirling at the fact this wasn't even a one off but her voice dropping to a calmer level as she saw the other girl flinch. Trying to calm her anger the singer bit her lip, "What happened?"

Santana shrugged, she was trying so hard to keep herself together that she could feel her fingernails burying themselves in the palms of her hands. It was only when Rachel reached over to clasp them with her own that the Latina relaxed. She let the smaller girl unfurl her fists and felt her shoulders sag as Rachel laced their fingers together, "It was my fault."

"What? How can you even think that Santana-"

"No. I didn't mean it like that. I…" the Latina trailed off as she looked up at confused eyes. She knew there was no turning back from the truth now but she hadn't exactly prepared to spill her story to anyone, with a shake of her head Santana mumbled, "I left my sketch pad out and he saw…some things I drew."

"You draw?" Rachel blurted out, before realising that wasn't really the important part.

The Latina nodded, a tiny smile flicking across her face "Yeah, it's the one of the few things I'm actually good at. I was working on something when Mercedes called about our duet next week and I got distracted and I completely forgot I left it on the table. I wasn't even expecting him to be home so early, I thought he had the night-shift, but when I came back downstairs he was there."

Rachel edged herself closer, trying to offer comfort as the other girl fell quiet, "What were you drawing?"

Santana paused, her brain a mass of panic as she debated how much of the truth she was willing to share. She didn't weigh up her options for long before deciding to bite the bullet; after all she was increasingly sure it was the worst kept secret in the glee club any way.

"A girl." Santana whispered, her voice barely carrying across the stillness of the room, "The whole fucking book was girls. I mean it wasn't…it just sketches."

Rachel felt tears springing to her eyes as she watched the normally stoic girl crumble before her.

"He took one look and he lost it. He started ripping it apart, he was screaming and swearing at me, and then he stormed up the stairs and started tearing my room apart too." Santana swallowed hard as she turned away to stare at the floor again, "I got this leaflet from Miss Pillsbury _You're Gay and That's Okay, _and I knew it was stupid to keep it but I never thought he'd find it. As soon as he saw it, it was like he wasn't even thinking anymore…he just started hitting me and I couldn't stop him…"

"Jesus, San…" Rachel whispered as she wrapped an arm around the trembling girl.

"When he finally stopped he told me to get my things and get the hell out of his house. I only grabbed a few things before he dragged me down the stairs and literally threw me out." Santana continued as she let the tears fall, "He took my car keys so I couldn't drive anywhere, he took all of my cards and the money I had in my purse. He smashed my phone into fucking pieces."

The Latina paused as she looked up at the other girl, she could barely see through her own tears to make out Rachel's expression, "When I left…I didn't know where to go. I couldn't face going to see Brittany knowing she was probably with Artie, Puck is permanently attached to Lauren and hasn't spoken to me in months, Quinn hates me along with the rest of the club and then…I just…I came here. And I don't even know why, god knows I've given you enough reason to hate me without adding this fucking mess of a night-"

"Santana, it's okay. Stop." Rachel interrupted as the Latina began to panic. Holding the girl closer she ran a hand through the girl's hair in an attempt to calm her, "I'm glad you came to me. I know we've had our…issues in the past, but I don't hate you and there is no way you should be alone right now or in some scummy motel somewhere."

"I wouldn't have been able to pay for a room anyway. I thought about-" Santana sighed as the enormity of the situation weighed down on her, "About that homeless shelter over on Baker Street, and I mean it's totally still an option. I know it's asking a lot of you, to let me stay here tonight, especially after everything-"

Rachel shook her head, "No. No shelters, you're staying here and that's final."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." Rachel replied slightly exasperated, "There was never a choice."

Santana nodded, a slight smile passing over her tired features. She knew Rachel probably wanted to make some speech about glee club being a family, and that had it been any other situation she would have, but the Latina was grateful she managed to contain herself. The last thing Santana needed was to be reminded about what families are supposed to do after her own father kicked her out.

"Okay, well now that's decided it's getting late and I think we both need some sleep."

The Latina nodded, with the last of her energy she lifted herself from the bed and grabbed one of the cushions, "Sounds good, you got a blanket?"

Rachel frowned, "For what?"

"For sleeping?" Santana replied in confusion, before shrugging off her own question. She didn't want to put the diva out any more than she had so with a half-smile she eyed up a place on the floor, "You know what, don't worry I'll be cool down here."

Rachel shook her head as she quickly grabbed back the pillow from a surprised Santana, "You are not sleeping on the floor. Guests do not sleep on the floor, especially ones who are carrying injuries."

"So, couch?" Santana asked, gesturing to the door.

Again Rachel shook her head, though this time she let out a laugh as she pointed in the opposite direction, "There's plenty of room in my bed."

Santana hesitated as she stared at the double bed she had been sat on moments before, she had to admit it did look ridiculously comfortable and she did not want to be alone right now, "You really don't have to do that, seriously I'll be fine on the floor."

Deciding against trying to talk her way around the stubborn Latina Rachel took the more direct approach, with a slight roll of her eyes she smiled and reached out to take the other girl's hand and gently pulled her towards the bed. As soon as she was close enough the singer shot her a signature Rachel Berry look and was pleasantly surprised when Santana smiled and slipped under the covers.

Once they were both comfortable Rachel leant over and clicked off her bedside light, as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness she felt Santana begin to tremble next to her. Not wanting to push the other girl Rachel bit her lip as she waited, a few minutes ticked past before she heard the unmistakable sounds of tears. She knew Santana was trying to hide it, the way her breath caught every so often, it was clear she was fighting to stay quiet.

"Santana." Rachel murmured, her voice softly breaking through the quiet, as she made her decision and reached out to wrap an arm around the crying girl, "Come here."

For the second time that night Santana fell gratefully into open arms, and as she curled her body around the smaller girl's she let the tears come. She could hear Rachel whispering soothing words in her ear, one of her hands running through her long hair as the other clutched her in a close embrace. When the tears finally stopped Santana couldn't bring herself to move away and when Rachel made no sign for her to move either the Latina allowed herself to relax as sleep took over.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, you guys are awesome! **

**In this chapter we meet the Berry men and get a little insight into Santana's home life. There is a lot more backstory and reasoning to Santana's thought-process and behaviour regarding her Dad, but that's coming up in later chapters. **

**Chapter Two**

When Rachel woke up the next morning the first thing she noticed was the empty space next to her, that and the blood-stained pillow Santana had slept on the previous night. As she heaved herself out of bed the singer let out a frustrated sigh, she had been so caught off guard with everything that had happened that she hadn't thought to properly deal with the Latina's injuries and now the other girl had probably run off somewhere while still in need of first aid.

Cursing herself internally Rachel padded her way across the room stopping short when she noticed an overnight bag stuffed by her desk, with a tilt of her head she paused and heard the unmistakable sound of someone moving around in the bathroom.

"Santana?" the petite girl called hesitantly as she lingered outside the door, "Are you okay?"

When there was no reply Rachel edged slightly closer, she could see the door wasn't closed and took that as a sign to continue, as she gently pushed the door open she couldn't contain the gasp that escaped her. Santana was stood in the middle of the small bathroom, her body bent awkwardly over the sink as she stared into the mirror examining her battered face.

Hearing the gasp Santana turned quickly from the mirror, her face contorting in pain as she clutched her stomach, "Joder, ¿Qué estás haciendo aqui?"

Rachel blinked as she tried to translate the angry words, she might not have known what was being said but it didn't take a genius to get the gist of it, "Sorry, I woke up and you weren't there and I was worried. I…San…that looks pretty bad I think-"

"It's fine." Santana barked as she tried in vain to hide herself from the smaller girls gaze.

Shaking her head Rachel sighed, she could practically see the Latina hastily rebuilding her well-worn defences and she knew she only had a small window of time in which to act. She had a feeling that Santana would act like this having bared so much of herself the previous night, Rachel was all to familiar with the need to be in control.

"It's not fine." Rachel said calmly as she strode into the room and opened one of the cupboards and began hunting around for supplies.

"What are you doing?" Santana tried, her words sounding weak as she tried to supress the pain she could feel throbbing through her.

Choosing to stay quiet Rachel pulled a few items from the cupboard and set them down on the closed lid of the toilet. The truth was she had no idea what she was doing, not really. She knew the basics of first aid, that wasn't the problem; she simply had no idea how to deal with the broken girl standing before her. A few minutes ticked by before Rachel came to a decision, raising her eyes she was about to speak when she noticed the other girl begin to waver. It was only by chance that Rachel reacted quick enough to catch Santana as her legs gave way. Easing the other girl so she was sitting on the edge of the bath tub Rachel closed her eyes as she felt Santana flinch away from her.

Reaching behind her Rachel managed to grab a bottle of painkillers and popping two from the bottle she handed them to Santana who gulped them down quickly. Staring at the Latina she whispered, "Where does it hurt?"

Santana seemed to contemplate the question for a moment, not because she was unsure of what hurt but because her stubborn brain seemed stuck on the notion of not accepting any help. In the end the need for pain relief won and gluing her eyes to the floor Santana mumbled, "I took a few kicks and…and my stomach hurts."

"Okay. I need you to take off your shirt so I can see." Rachel replied calmly, as though it was an everyday request.

Santana nodded, before shifting awkwardly "Can you…"

Rachel frowned as the other girl gestured downwards, it took her a moment to realise the Latina needed help undressing, "Oh. Right. Of course."

Between the two of them they managed to as delicately as possible rid the darker girl of her tank top, and after folding it up and placing it on the floor Rachel bit her lip as Santana crossed her arms loosely over her bruised body.

"You need to let me see, okay?" Rachel asked as she grabbed one of the instant ice-packs she had kept from one of her dance injuries, and snapped it open. Looking up she barely contained her gasp as her eyes fell on the dark bruises covering the girl's torso, reaching out a hand she carefully traced her fingertips over the skin her own eyes tearing up as Santana refused to raise her stare from the floor.

"The swelling isn't too bad." Rachel whispered, her words catching in her throat as she swallowed back her tears and gently pressed the ice pack to her stomach, "I don't think anything's broken but this should help with the swelling."

Santana nodded as she allowed the diva to take care of her injuries. She kept her eyes lowered as Rachel set about cleaning the cuts on the Latina's face, her tense body only relaxing slightly as she listen to the delicate humming that filled the room. Her mind had never been in such disarray, on one hand it felt like every thought was storming around at a light speed as a never ending line of questions plagued her, but on the other hand she was numb. As though everything else was moving and she was getting left behind.

"I think I'm done." Rachel said quietly, breaking the Latina from her thoughts, "If you want, you're more than welcome to go back to bed and get some rest."

"No. I don't want-" the Latina shook her head quickly catching herself before she appeared too pathetic, she couldn't let Rachel know she didn't want to be alone. She had already destroyed a lot of her reputation she couldn't bare letting her guard down much more, "I can't sleep, y'know...bruises and all."

If Rachel noticed the Latina's back-tracking she didn't show it, instead she simply nodded and pulled herself up off the floor, offering a hand to Santana she was grateful when the Latina took it and allowed herself to be led back into the bedroom. While Rachel swiftly sought out her own sweatshirt Santana began pouring through her own things to find a top. Letting out a growl of frustration the Latina realised everything in her bag was still soaked through.

"Here." Rachel said, seeing the Latina's frustration and passing her one of her own hoodies, "You can borrow this."

Santana smiled and took the offered clothing, a frown passing over her features as she recognised it, "Really? You're giving me your Wicked hoodie? You love this thing, when you thought Quinn spilt juice on it that time at sectionals; you practically had a panic attack."

"I know, but I want you to have it" Rachel smiled, her eyes dropping bashfully as she added "I know it sounds stupid, it's just a piece of clothing but well…it always makes me feel better."

Santana blinked as she took in the kind words, the fact the singer was willingly to trust her with something that was obviously so special meant a lot to her and she didn't miss the underlying message behind the offer. She was more than grateful that Rachel was trying to let her know she was there for her without having to go through the whole 'feelings-talk', Santana was exhausted enough without delving into another emotion heart-to heart. "I…Thank you"

"You're welcome." The smaller girl beamed, before turning and heading to the door, "But now on to the more important matter of breakfast. I'm afraid I can't offer you a lot in the way of animal by-products but I do have some delicious vegan-alternatives."

"Sounds good to me." Santana said as she followed the other girl downstairs.

As they made their way into the kitchen Santana took a seat at the breakfast bar and watched Rachel busy herself around the kitchen producing various foods from various cupboards like magic. As the mass of food began mounting on the table Santana felt her eyes bulge, and she was just about to say something when the diva spun around with a smile and sunk into the seat opposite the Latina, "Let's eat!"

With that the two delved into the food, each helping themselves to the mountain of goodies. As Santana watched Rachel tucked away another slice of toast she chuckled playfully, "For someone so tiny, you sure can eat."

"I could say the same thing about you." The diva giggled as she watched Santana pour herself a bowl of cereal, "You know I think my Dad might have left some milk if you want? I know soya isn't to everyone's taste."

With a shake of her head, Santana dismissed the offer with a slight wave "Actually, unless you want me to spend the next day or so hurling in your bathroom then soya is good."

"Huh?"

"I'm lactose intolerant." Santana explained with a shrug, "So, this breakfast totally gets the thumbs up from me."

"I didn't know that." Rachel stated with a frown.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me." The Latina stated, her tone dropping as she added, "I didn't exactly want you to find out that my Dad knocks me about either but I guess I'm just full of surprises lately."

Dropping her knife to her plate, Rachel sighed "San-"

"Sorry." The other girl muttered, "Nice one Lopez, had to go and ruin a perfectly good morning."

Rachel hesitated as she watched the Latina, her shoulders slumped as she stared at her cereal. It only took a second for her to make a decision, and sliding out of her chair she made her way around the counter and took the seat next to her friend. She was glad when the other girl didn't turn away and reaching out a hand she linked their fingers together on the table, "You didn't ruin anything, okay?"

Santana shrugged half-heartedly, her eyes fixed downward she was about to reply when the sound of the front door opening drew both girl's attentions. Turning in her seat to look at Rachel the Latina couldn't contain the panic in her eyes.

"It's okay." Rachel tried as she moved to stand, "It's my Dads, they normally have Saturday brunch with the next door neighbours. They're living the suburban dream."

Santana simply nodded as she too made to stand up, her voice gruff as she tried to mask her worry with a casual indifference she didn't possess "Right, I should go then."

"What?" the singer half-shouted, her voice ringing loudly through the hallway as she shook her head quickly, "No look-"

"Rachel? Sweetie?" A loud male voice boomed through the house as the sound of footsteps approached the kitchen.

Rachel felt Santana tense, her hand shaking slightly in the singers grasp she gave a reassuring squeeze, "Everything's going to be fine San. Trust me."

The Latina nodded, her eyes flicking to the doorway as they waited for the two Berry men to enter the kitchen. Santana desperately wanted to believe the kind words but a voice in her head couldn't help but point out that she was one of the people who had made Rachel's life a misery for years and undoubtedly the two men would know all about it. What would they do when they found her in their kitchen?

"Rachel, there you are!" a cheerful voice rang through the kitchen as Santana watched the smaller of the two men enter, "And you have company."

The cheerful edge that the man Santana remembered as Hiram had started with halted as soon as he laid eyes on the Latina. Shrinking away from the gaze the former cheerleader let her hair fall gently around her face, effectively obscuring his view of her battered features.

"Rachel, what's going on?" a second voice queried as Leroy Berry joined his husband, "Is everything okay?"

Even though Santana couldn't see Rachel she could imagine the conflicted look that was passing between her parents and her friend, as a small voice started Santana closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the tears that sprang from nowhere, "Actually…Dad, Daddy…I think you might want to sit down."

Santana tensed as she felt the two men hesitantly slide into the seats opposite where she and Rachel had now returned to. Part of her wanted to get up from the table and bolt straight out the door; no confrontations and no horrible recollections of the events with her Dad, just a basic run for the hills tactic. But she was so exhausted from everything it was all she could do to raise her stare and offer the two fathers an apologetic look. She hadn't meant for them to get dragged into her shit but here they were.

Realising Rachel still had a hold of her hand Santana turned to looked at the smaller girl. For her part Rachel bit her lip nervously and the Latina knew she was asking for permission to tell her parents.

Unaware of the silent conversation between the two girls Leroy broke the silence that had fallen, "Rachel? What's going on?"

The worry in the question made Santana sigh, she hated that she was the cause of all this drama and briefly wished she had gone to the shelter instead, at least there was no risk of anyone there getting dragged down with her.

"Santana stayed here last night." Rachel began, her eyes flicking awkwardly from her Dad to the Latina, "Something happened and she needed a place to stay."

"Something happened?" Leroy echoed, as he took in the bruising on the young girls face, "I can see that but, if you don't mind me asking. What exactly?"

Rachel opened her mouth to speak but quickly snapped it shut instead, her option to stay quiet shocking the Berry men but Santana knew it was because she was the one who should be telling the story, not Rachel.

With a heavy sigh Santana looked up at the confused, and strangely concerned, men in front of her. She couldn't help but compare them to her own father, her mind quickly clamping down on the comparison as her heart began to ache, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude or whatever I…I didn't have anywhere else to go after…"

Her voice faltered as she tried to think of a way to explain everything that didn't make it all sound so utterly fucked up, with a shake of her head Santana continued, "My Dad kicked me out last night."

Both men nodded, but it was Hiram who spoke next his voice soft as he asked a question he had probably already worked out the answer to, "Who did that to your face Santana?"

The sadness in his voice hit the Latina hard and swallowing the lump in her throat she closed her eyes in a bid to hold back the tears. She knew she couldn't lie to him, she also knew that it didn't take a genius to put two and two together but her voice was so quiet when she spoke next that she was surprised it carried across the room, "My Dad. He's not exactly an open-minded guy and he just lost it."

"What do you mean, 'he's not an open-minded guy'?" Leroy asked, his hands clamped tightly together as he leaned forward searching for some kind of an explanation as to how any parent could do something like this to their own child.

Santana was at a loss for words, she figured Rachel would have gossiped at least a little bit with her parents. She knew that even if she wasn't ready to come out to the glee club that most of them had heard the rumours and that of all people Rachel would have talk about it with her two gay Dads but one quick look at the diva told her otherwise. A tense silence hung over the four as Santana bit her lip, she had never said the words out loud and she never imagined saying the words to the people she was about to, "He found out that…I'm…I'm gay."

Santana found her eyes glued to the two men as the words tumbled from her mouth, her voice wavering as she felt her confidence vanish.

The reactions her declaration received were very different. Leroy clenched his jaw tightly, his eyes flashing dangerously as a wave of anger swept over him. Hiram on the other hand seemed to sink back in his chair, his body slumping sadly as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was being told. While Rachel only squeezed her hand again, a supportive smile on her face as she waited for her Dads to recover.

Leroy seemed to pick himself up first, but in doing so slammed his fists down on the table in anger his shoulders hunched as he shook his head angrily, "Have you called the police?"

Santana shook her head, "No. I…I don't want them involved."

Hiram piped up at this point, "I know this is your decision Santana and I am not going to try and pressure you into changing your mind but I think you should give this some more thought."

"He's still my Dad." Santana whispered as she ducked her head to avoid the stares that were coming from all sides, "I know it sounds stupid but I can't do that to him."

"Even after what he's done to you?" Rachel questioned, unable to wrap her mind around the situation. "Santana he has to know he can't get away with this."

"Yeah, right." The Latina laughed bitterly as she turned to stare out the window, "He's been getting away with it for years and no-one ever stopped him. No-one said a fucking word about it they all just ignored it and hoped it would stay behind closed doors, so that is exactly where it's going to stay. I don't need people calling me a liar or telling me I probably deserved it anyway."

"San…"

"No Rachel." The taller girl snapped, swinging round in her seat slightly to look at her friend, "I know what people think about me, for god sake the glee club is supposed to be one big happy family and you all went out of your way to make sure I know I'm a complete bitch. I scheme and I cheat and fuck pretty much everyone's lives up so why the hell would anyone suddenly believe a word I say over my perfect law-abiding Dad? They never have before so you know what, I'd rather not put myself through that."

Before Rachel could respond her Dad spoke, "Who did you tell before?"

"I never told anyone much because as soon as anyone saw the bruises, as soon as anyone thought something bad might be going on they pretty much got as far away from me as possible. No-one wanted to get involved." the Latina shrugged, her voice cracking slightly as she continued "I told my cousin once. We were at a family party and my Dad had spent the whole morning yelling at me about some broken clock or something and I had this huge black eye, that he told everyone was a cheerleading accident, and my older cousin Manny asked me about it so I told him. I was so angry at my Dad that I just blurted it out without thinking, as soon as I said it I regretted it. I knew he'd laugh it off, and he did. He told me I shouldn't have been messing around with my Dad's stuff and that if had been him he would have given me two matching ones."

"That's awful." Rachel whispered "But it doesn't mean everyone is going to be like that. I believe you. My Dad's believe you and the police will too."

Santana sighed as she shifted in her seat, it was true she realised that the Berrys' were on her side but she still couldn't face the idea of potentially putting her Dad behind bars or putting herself through all the drama, "I know and I appreciate it, I do, but I can't call the police on him."

Rachel looked like she wanted to argue but managed to bite her tongue as she turned instead to face her parents hoping one of them would put a little more pressure on her friend. Instead the two mean simply nodded, and it was Hiram who spoke "Okay. It's your decision and we have to respect that, but if you change your mind then that's okay too. In the meantime, I think that it would be best if you stayed with us for a little while."

Santana felt her eyes widen as she looked between the two men in surprise, "I…I really appreciate the offer but-"

"No buts." Leroy interrupted, "We may not be pressuring you to report your father but I think I speak for my husband and myself when I say we are adamant that you stay here. You need to be somewhere safe."

"I don't want to get in your way." The Latina tried.

"Nonsense." Hiram said with a smile, his eyes more serious as he looked at the young girl "You said yourself that you didn't know where else to go and we have a perfectly empty guest room upstairs that my husband spent a lot of time decorating and has never been used."

"It's my masterpiece." Leroy grinned a little at this, "And I insist you use it."

Santana hesitated, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the Berry's generosity and a familiar feeling of unworthiness crept in as she sighed, "I…I don't deserve this, I can't suddenly invade your house and started dragging you down with all my drama and issues especially when Rachel and I aren't even friends."

"You're both in glee aren't you?" Hiram questioned in confusion.

It hit the Latina then how little Rachel had apparently told her parents, with a sideways look at the smaller girl Santana shrugged, "Yeah but I'm kind of a bitch to her, to everyone really."

"So, we've heard." Hiram continued with a frown as he stared at Santana, "Rachel does tell us about what goes on at that school, not everything I'm sure, but enough. I'm not saying we're sweeping everything under the rug here, but in these circumstances and considering Rachel seems happy for you to be here then our offer stands."

Santana fell temporarily speechless as she contemplated the older man's words. As it turned out he did know about her and Rachel's history but he was still willing to help her, "You know this would all make so much more sense if you would just…yell at me or some shit."

"That might be what you're used to but it's not how we do things around here." Leroy stated, shaking his head sadly as he leant back in his chair to observe the girl, "I believe in second chances Santana, I believe in helping people and god knows it seems like you need it right now."

Santana nodded, her throat tightening as she willed herself to stay in control of her emotions.

"Good." Hiram intervened, clapping his hands together resolutely to break the tension that had fallen over the room "Then that's settled, so we will leave you to your…extensive breakfast. Rachel, your Dad and I have to go visit Cal and the kids but we will be back tonight for dinner if you have recovered from eating everything in the cupboards maybe we could order in some Breadsticks and introduce Santana to the wonderful world of the Berry DVD collection."

Rachel laughed and nodded, "Sure Daddy, if you call on your way back Santana and I can swing by and pick some food up for us?"

"Okay kiddo." The older man grinned as he ruffled his daughters hair playfully, only to be swotted away, "Now come on Leroy we need to get over to Cal's before he thinks it's a good idea to attempt to bake more welcome cookies, my stomach has only just recovered from the last batch of cement-based nightmares!"

"They weren't that bad." Leroy chuckled and got up to follow Hiram, who was already half-way up the stairs, turning to the two girls he added, "They were much, much worse."

With that he swiftly exited the kitchen leaving the two girl's alone once more. As Rachel finished off what was left of her food Santana let her own spoon fall back to her bowl. She still couldn't comprehend why the Berry's were helping her but she was quickly planning ways to limit the amount of damage the Lopez-tornado was about to bring to the family home.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Chapter Three is here! A massive thanks to everyone following this story. There's not enough PezBerry out there and this is just my attempt to do them some justice. Any and all reviews welcome : )**

**I forgot to say before but I don't have a better so all mistakes are my own and all Spanish translations are google-based!**

After they had finished breakfast, and spent a good half an hour cleaning up after themselves, Rachel suggested they sort through Santana's things and try to redeem the soaking wet bag the Latina had dragged with her the previous night. Once they had brought the bag to the laundry room it didn't take much time for Santana to come to a conclusion, "I've got pretty much jack-shit in here."

Rachel had to agree; the bag only contained a pair of jeans, a couple of tanks and a hoodie. There were no toiletries, no make-up or shoes and none of the other girl's school work or personal belongings. Once the few pieces of clothing were in the washing machine the singer knew what was coming next.

"If I'm going to stay here, I need to go and get the rest of my stuff."

The way Santana said it, made it sound so easy but she knew the Latina was anything but calm at the thought of going back to her Dad's house so Rachel, trying to sound as nonchalant as she could muster, simply nodded and said, "Okay, I'll get my car keys."

She had been expecting an argument but instead Santana nodded, her hands twisting together in front of her in an uncharacteristic display of nerves.

When the two girl's pulled up outside the Lopez residence twenty minutes later Santana had somehow managed to keep quiet as she contemplated what she was about to do. She knew her Dad would be at work but part of her was still terrified he would show up unexpectedly like he had done the day before.

Seeing the other girl's hesitance, Rachel pulled her phone from her pocket "Here, you can call the house and see if anyone answers."

Santana nodded and typing in the number she waited with baited breath as she listened to it ring, her body only relaxing when the answering machine picked up her call, "Okay, there's no answer and I can't see his car anywhere. I think we're good to go."

It seemed so stupid to Santana that she had to sneak into her own house but it seemed even more stupid when she realised she didn't have a key. Her Dad had taken most of her stuff from her the previous night, including her keys so she was left standing outside staring up at the house. She weighed her options for a moment before looking up and down the street, then gestured for Rachel to follow her. Santana headed around the back of the house and after letting them through the thankfully unlocked gate she stared up at the back of what she had once called her home.

Eyeing an open window the Latina let out a sigh of relief, "Alright. Give me two minutes and I'll let you in."

Before Rachel could object Santana, thankful for her years of gymnastics and cheerleading, had managed to pull herself up onto a drainpipe and shimmy across to the open window. After a quick check to make sure none of the neighbours were watching she pulled herself into the house. Once inside she waited for a moment, her senses on high alert before she was satisfied that the house was definitely empty and powered down the stairs to the back door to let Rachel in.

"Okay that was impressive." Rachel said as she slipped in through the door and moved across the kitchen to follow Santana, "And also scary and informative, I don't think I'll need to be reminded to always close my windows from now on."

Santana chuckled as she pushed through the door from the kitchen and headed down the hallway, as she approached the front of the house she hesitated. To her left were the stairs which she wished she could just walk back up without a second thought, but her attention was drawn to the living room on her right. Her breath caught in her chest as her eyes roamed across the sight. Instead of the normally tidy and lifeless room she had become accustomed to, the room was a mess. The bookcase that lined the wall opposite her was trashed with almost all of the books lying across the floor in disarray while the table that sat in the middle of the room was smashed into pieces.

"Jesus." Rachel breathed out as she came to a standstill next to her friend.

Santana wished she could tell Rachel that this had happened after she had left but her memory said otherwise. Taking a step into the room Santana bit her lip as she looked around, she could feel the tears beginning to fall but made no attempted to wipe them away as she recalled everything that happened, her voice cutting through the silence as she mumbled her explanation to Rachel. She didn't know why she felt the need to give her friend a blow by blow description but she couldn't stop it. As she moved around the room she recounted the way he had tossed her into the bookcase and almost put her through the table when she pleaded with him to stop, she traced her hand over the edge of the couch where she vaguely remembered hitting her head. Entering back into the hallway something caught Santana's eye and she stopped in her tracks, hoping Rachel would be too distracted to follow her gaze.

However Rachel was so caught up in what was being said that her attention was solely on the Latina and when she stopped the singer automatically followed the other girl's stare, "Is that…?"

Santana nodded but made no attempt to move, when it became apparent that she wasn't going to Rachel's curiosity got the better of her and she stepped forward letting her feet propel her to the dining room across the hallway. Bending down the smaller girl surveyed the ripped paper spread across the floor and doing her best to gather it all she stood back up and placed the mangled sketchpad on the table.

A lot of the pictures had been ripped beyond recognition and many pieces still littered the floor, but the book itself had survived in some part and Rachel saw the smile that crossed Santana's face as she hurriedly snapped into action and joined the diva at the table when she realised some of her work had survived

"Santana…these are amazing." Rachel murmured, her eyes glued to the sketches as she couldn't help but flip through the pages

The Latina shuffled awkwardly beside the smaller girl, a faint blush on her cheeks, "Er…thanks, but maybe you shouldn't-"

Santana found her words cut off as Rachel flipped through the book and on to a set of pages that made her eyes widen in shock. A lot of the sketches had been ones she had done while lounging around the house, she had drawings copied from magazines and off the television but she also had a few she had done which were much more personal.

The first was of Quinn, a hurried doodle of the blonde she had copied from a photo taken back at cheer camp a few years ago. The next few were of Brittany, mostly done while the two had spent the afternoons together studying or at least Santana had been helping the dancer study while she drew. But it was the next ones that make Rachel stop.

"You drew me?" Rachel whispered, her fingertips ghosting over the images.

"I…It's…" Santana stammered as she tried to pull the images away from the other girl only to find herself blocked, "They're nothing, seriously…I mean I didn't-"

"I love them." Rachel stated, her eyes connecting with the Latina's.

Santana blinked in surprise, trying to work out if the singer was as serious as she sounded, "You…you don't think it's weird?"

Rachel shook her head, her heart-warming at the vulnerability the Latina was displaying as she re-iterated, "I love them. Would it be okay…if maybe I kept one?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, no-one's ever drawn me before well not since second grade when Tommy Carlton spent free time doodling a crayon version of me." The singer said with a chuckle, deciding not to bring up the horrible drawings Quinn had done of her on the schools bathroom wall.

Santana smiled, she tried to look blasé as she spread out the three sketches of Rachel that remained intact. "Take your pick then I guess."

Rachel grinned as she hopped up and down excitedly, ignoring the playful way the Latina rolled her eyes, she knew Santana was secretly ecstatic that someone was getting to see her work and actually like it. Looking down at the three pictures she paused, the first one looked to be copied from a photo from sectionals and the second was clearly her yearbook picture but the third one she couldn't place, gesturing to it she asked "Where's this one from?"

Santana groaned, she considered lying but figured it didn't matter much anyways since the diva had seen it already, "I may, or may not, have done that one in New York when you and Kurt snuck back in from where ever the hell you went."

Rachel frowned as she tried to place the time, her brain suddenly clicking, "We snuck into the one of the theatres on Broadway."

"That explains a lot." Santana smiled, catching the confused frown on the singers face she explained, "You looked so happy, I got kind of used to seeing you all miserable and pinning after Finnocence that…I dunno, I guess it was like having the old Berry back?"

"The old Berry?"

"I knew you were gonna make me regret letting you see these." Santana complained, half playful and half awkward as she rolled her eyes and turned to face the tiny brunette, "Fine. Ever since you and Finn broke up you've been all whiny and mopey-"

"Hey! I am not-"

"Let me finish." Santana interrupted, holding up a hand to silence the girl as she re-iterated, "You might not want to admit it but you have been moping over him and to be honest it kind of sucked to watch. The fact is, you're to fucking good for that jackass and it was like in New York you let yourself get over it and be happy."

For the first time in her life Rachel was lost for words, she felt her jaw hanging uselessly and after a couple of failed attempts she managed to get her thoughts together, "You think I'm too good for Finn?"

Santana scoffed, trying to seem casual "That pendejo has done nothing but mess you and Quinn around, I honestly don't get what you see in him."

"Pendejo?" Rachel queried, obviously lost and a little embarrassed at her attempts to repeat the word properly.

"Jackass." Santana grinned, " I figure if you're gonna offer me a place to stay the least I can do is try and tone down the swearing, I know you hate it, but I'll do my best to tone it down."

Rachel laughed, "That's…sweet. I think."

Santana smiled and took advantage of the change of subject to move things along, gathering together her book she was happy to see Rachel take the one of her in New York. Once she had everything together she stuffed the book under her arm and made for the stairs, with Rachel following behind she stomped into her room and surveyed the mess. Her Dad had done a pretty thorough job of tearing it apart and clothes and various things were strewn across her admitting normally disorganised room.

Grabbing two bags from under her bed she tossed one to Rachel instructing her to simply pile as much clothing as possible into it while she gathered the essentials. It didn't take Rachel long to sort through her part and when she was done she sunk down onto the double bed and watched Santana hurry about the room. The Latina had dumped her bag down on the bed and was unceremoniously chucking stuff at it which amused Rachel, who took to packing the things together as she waited.

When Santana tossed a particularly heavy-looking file over Rachel put it to one side realising it wouldn't fit and would need to be carried, along with a collection of books, one of which she picked up and began to flick through.

The Latina laughed from her place by the chest of drawers, "There are no pictures in that you know."

Rachel huffed at the insult and was about to reply before looking down and actually seeing what she had picked up, a blush rising up as she realised she had been pretending to read _Vecindarios Excentricos _"Oh…oops?"

Santana chuckled as she came to stand by the bed with a serious expression, "You might be a couple of semesters away from tackling that but don't worry, I'm sure Dora the Explorer has a fantastic range of picture books I could help you with."

Rachel scowled as she tossed the book to the Latina and fought back a smile, "Oh good, you remembered to pack your jokes."

"Never leave without them." Santana retorted as she packed the last of her things away and hoisted the heavier of the two bags onto her back and stuffed a bunch of books under her arm. "But now, if you don't mind I'd like to get the hell out here."

"Seconded." the singer nodded as she picked up the other bag and the final few pieces.

Scrambling down the stairs the two girl's headed out the front door. Santana knew that it wouldn't take much for her Dad to work out she had snuck in so she did little to hide her visit, instead she chose to take one last trip to the kitchen to help herself to an assortment of food from the cupboards.

"I know this might sound like a strange question, but should you really be doing that?" Rachel asked, her mind racing ahead of her as she thought about how angry Mr Lopez would be when he realised his daughter had ransacked his kitchen.

Santana shrugged as she finished her foraging, "Fuck that, I might not have paid for it but I was the one who went to the store so I doubt he even knows what's in here. Besides he owes me a little more than some free food."

Rachel nodded, not exactly able to argue with that logic she waited patiently until Santana gestured for them to move. It didn't take long for the two to load up Rachel's Prius and drive off, each girl conscious of neighbours watching and getting the wrong idea, neither of them particularly looking to explain themselves to the police.

When they arrived back at the Berry residence Hiram and Leroy had left and Santana was quietly grateful that she wouldn't have to face them for a while. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate their kindness, in fact she couldn't feel more grateful, but it was a lot to take in having three people find out about her life. She'd gone from her cocoon of denial straight out into the open, displaying of level of weakness and vulnerability she was completely uncomfortable with.

As she dumped the last of her things into the admittedly luxurious guest room Santana clumped back down the stairs and flopped down onto one of the sofa's in the front room, with a big smile she let herself melt into the numerous cushions content to enjoy the calming warmth of the house. She knew Rachel was on the phone to her Dad so leaning over to grab the remote Santana flicked on the tv before deciding she couldn't take anything serious and settled on cartoons. She could just feel herself starting to drift off when she felt Rachel slump down on the sofa next to her.

"Did you get everything sorted?" the singer asked as she shuffled in amongst a pile of cushions.

"Uh-huh." Santana nodded vaguely as her eyes flicked to the tv, a smile gracing her features as she watched SpongeBob singing the fun song, before turning to the girl next to her with an awkward expression, "Thanks again, y'know…for everything. I know I'm probably not on your top ten lists of ideal guests so I appreciate you putting up with me for a bit."

Rachel shook her head, her brain not used to seeing the other girl so uncomfortable she chose to simply sigh good-naturedly, "I already told you, it's okay that you're here."

"Yeah, but you kind of have to say that since I'm already here." Santana argued, her eyes dropping back to the tv as she added, "It's cool, I figure I can get a job at BreadSticks or something over the summer and with my savings I can find a place somewhere-"

"Okay." Rachel said firmly as she sat up and faced the Latina, drawing her attention "I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully. Number one; as I have stated previously it is okay that you are here, in fact I feel rather honoured that felt you could come to me in your hour of need. Number two; you are not an inconvenience, if you were I would tell you so. Number three; while I encourage you to pursue some kind of summer employment I do so only as a means to occupy your time and gain experience in a workplace because Number Four; you are not going to rent some pest-ridden place somewhere when, as both myself and my Dads have point out, we have a perfectly over-the-top guest room that you are more than welcome to stay in. I know this is a difficult situation Santana, and that you are unaccustomed to depending on people but I implore you to trust me when I say that I am more than willing to forget our previous less-than pleasant history and move forward with what has been a developing friendship over the past year. You need a home Santana and I am more than willing to bring you into mine."

Stunned by the outburst Santana could think of no reply as her mouth hung open.

"Good, I'm glad to see you have no arguments." The singer beamed as she bounced up from the sofa and offered a hand to the still astounded Latina, "And on that note, it is entirely too nice a day to be coped up inside watching cartoons so I suggest we take a run to clear our heads."

Santana felt herself perk up at the thought of exercise and taking the outstretched hand she allowed Rachel to pull her to her feet, "That sounds like an awesome idea."

"Good." Rachel beamed as she moved to make her way upstairs only to find herself held still by the former cheerleader.

"Rachel I…" trailing off sheepishly Santana cursed her inability to express her feelings properly and after a couple of seconds she shocked them both by wrapping her arms around the shorter girl and drawing her into a hug. It should have been awkward she thought, but it wasn't instead Santana felt herself melting into the embrace and Rachel hugged her back, her tiny arms gripping the Latina fiercely as the normal stoic girl whispered, "Thank you."

When they pulled apart Rachel smiled and keeping their hands interlocked she tugged Santana after her, "You're more than welcome."

Approaching the top of the stairs Santana shook her head at the surreal turn her life had taken, with a grin she let go of Rachel's hand and headed to her room opposite the diva's, "Don't think this means I'm going soft though alright? I'm still gonna make you eat my dust."

A challenging glint in the diva's eye she replied, "Well I've never been one to back down from a challenge, it's on!"

**A/N - You may have to cut me some poetic license with the guys going for a run but I needed it for the next chapter as you'll find out soon :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – Thanks again for the reviews guys they really mean a lot and always make me smile! **

**So, here is the run. Hopefully I got Santana's story across here. And again some poetic license needed as I know I had Santana hurt in previous chapters and running here but this seemed the best way for the story to develop. **

**And the next chapter…prepare for the first glimpse of Britney.**

The park on the outskirts of Lima had been a favourite of Santana's for a long time, when she had been on the cheerios she had spent almost every morning doing circuits around the wooded area of the small pond. There was a calmness about the place that the Latina always found comforting and she smiled as she remembered how much she loved to be out running between the trees, although she had to admit she would be smiling a lot more if Rachel hadn't just zoomed past her with a grin and what she was pretty sure was a catch-me-if-you-can look.

With a shake of her head Santana picked up her pace and headed off after the petite girl, she was please to find she wasn't as out of shape as she thought she would have been after leaving the cheerleading squad, and with the height advantage, she caught up to Rachel relatively quickly. Of course this only made Rachel move faster and soon the calm, peaceful run had turned into an all-out sprint, their combined competitive nature spurring them forwards.

As the bank of the pond came into view both girls took it as the finish line and increased their pace, pushing themselves to the brink as the thud of feet filled the air. Santana grinned as she just edged her way in front, her hands raised into the air as she came to a stop with a celebratory cheer. Rachel only a few steps behind her came to a stop and shook her tiny fist playfully.

Santana laughed as she collapsed down at the edge of the pond, leaning back on her elbows she waited for her breathing to return to normal as Rachel dropped down next to her, mirroring her actions.

"Man that felt good." Santana panted as she shifted to crack open her water, "And kicking your butt made it extra fun."

"You did not kick my butt." Rachel pouted.

"Accept the defeat, Berry." She laughed, her eyes wandering away from the water to her friend who refused to relent, "I'm sure it doesn't happen often."

Rachel shrugged, a smile playing at her lips "Fine, but next time I won't go so easy on you."

"Pfft, don't give me that you were like a machine." Santana laughed, her breathing finally settling down a bit she pushed herself back into a sitting position, "You're actually pretty good, you ever thought about going out for track?"

"Me?" Rachel squeaked in surprise.

"Sure. I mean, you kept up with me and I thought about joining, I actually tried out junior year and had some pretty decent times too."

Rachel frowned, she had only ever thought of Santana as part of the cheerios and never as a jock "Why didn't you join?"

"Because I joined the cheerios." Santana said, her voice slightly regretful, "I wasn't going to but I did it for-"

"Brittany." The diva filled in when her friend hesitated.

Santana shook her head, "Quinn."

"You joined cheerios instead of the track team for her, why?"

The Latina sighed, her eyes dropping to the grass as she tugged at the green blades, "Because despite all the shit we've done to each other, we used to be best friends. When Quinn transferred to McKinley we were like, inseparable, she told me about the whole Lucy-Caboosey thing and I…she was my friend and I wanted to protect her. I knew that being on the cheerios meant being at the top of the social pyramid and that if I helped her to get there then she wouldn't have to take any shit from anyone. I dunno, I guess I figured if I couldn't protect myself from him then I could at least protect Quinn from having to go through all that crap again."

"So, what changed? I mean if you two were so close before why are you so far apart now?" Rachel asked, her eyes wide as she tried to process all the information. She had always assumed that Santana and Brittany were best friends first and Quinn had popped up along the way.

"I guess a part of it was High School, we got caught up in all the petty popularity battles but…" Santana bit her lip as she looked at her friend sadly, "But I guess I pushed her away. She started noticing the bruises and asking questions so I did what I had to do to keep it a secret."

"San…" Rachel breathed as she reached over to take the Latina's hand.

The brunette shrugged casually, her eyes glistening as she mumbled, "I learnt pretty quickly that it's easy to keep people away; a few insults and veiled threats. It didn't take long to get to the stage where everyone thinks I'm such a bitch that they stay away all together."

The smaller girl felt her chest tighten as she finished the Latina's unspoken thought, "And if no-ones' around then there's no-one to ask any questions, no-one finds out what goes on with your Dad."

"Bingo." Santana said quietly as she shifted to lie back on the grass, her eyes focusing on the sky as she blinked slowly.

Shifting to lay next to her friend Rachel bit her lip nervously not knowing whether she was about to push the other girl into talking about something she wasn't ready to, "How long has it been going on?"

Santana was quiet for a moment as she thought, "A while. I mean, I always knew my Dad kind of hated me but most of the time when I was younger it was just a lot of shouting and him desperately trying to be at work as much as possible. Then they started making cut backs and he lost his hours and the more time he had to mop around at home, the more he drank and then it started being more than random shouting. It's not like it happens all the time, I learnt pretty fast to stay out of his way. I spent a lot of time at Quinn's before she started getting suspicious and then I managed to get Puck to let me use his place to hide out, as long as I put out anyway."

"You had sex with him so you wouldn't have to go home?" Rachel asked, her head tilting to the side as she stared at the Latina in shock.

Santana simply shrugged as she turned to meet the singer's gaze, "It wasn't exactly like that, I mean I like Puck, but…yeah I guess I knew if I said yes to him then usually I could stay longer and give myself a better chance of avoiding any beatings."

"He didn't notice anything was wrong?"

"He's a teenage boy, who was only interested in one thing." Santana sighed, her eyes misting slightly at the memory of so many nights spent pretending they were something more, "And even if he had been paying more attention, you don't need to take your clothes off to have sex."

Rachel nodded, her brain spinning into overdrive she asked the one question that had been burning away at her since the other girl had first shown up, "Where's your mom?"

The question seemed to linger in the air and Rachel knew she had hit a raw nerve. Part of her expected Santana to stay silent but instead the Latina drew in a deep breath, "She left."

"She left?" the smaller girl queried, the vagueness of the answer not helping her to understand much.

"When I was nine, I woke up one morning and she was gone. I found a letter she left for my Dad, and it said…" Santana hesitated, her voice cracking as she remembered the day clearly "She said, she hated what her life had become, that she never wanted to get tied down with a kid and she couldn't pretend to be happy anymore. She didn't say where she went and I haven't heard from her since, she disappeared."

Rachel felt her stomach drop at the words.

"I don't think she meant for me to find the letter but I did, and when I gave it to my Dad…he told me to go to my room and he didn't speak to me for a week. After that, it was like she never existed. He took down the handful of photos we had and he never said her name again." Santana continued as she pulled herself into a sitting position and wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "It's my fault she left, and I know that he blames me for it. I ruined both of their lives."

Rachel could barely wrap her head around what she was hearing. For a parent to leave their child without so much as saying goodbye was one thing but for Santana to grow up thinking it was her fault and that she ruined her parents' lives made the smaller girl's heart ache, "You can't possibly think it's your fault."

"Of course it is. They never wanted me and if they had never had me then my parents would still be together and my Dad wouldn't be so angry all the time." The Latina argued as she curled her arms around herself.

Rachel shook her head adamantly as she reached out to clasp on of her friends hands "You can't blame yourself for what they did. They are your parents and there is no way in hell they should have ever made you feel like this. They brought you into this world, they are supposed to protect you and care for you-"

"Then what's so wrong with me that they couldn't do that?" Santana sobbed as she cut through Rachel's speech, tears flowing freely down her face as she broke down "What is so wrong with me that they couldn't love me?"

Rachel felt her own tears being to fall as she helplessly watched Santana fall apart, she wished she had the right words to say but she found herself speechless. She had no idea what to say, or how to undo a lifetimes worth of damage. In that moment Rachel had never hated anyone as much as she hated Mr and Mrs Lopez. Swallowing back her own emotions Rachel moved swiftly to draw the taller girl into a tight embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around the sobbing girl she began to gently run a hand through dark locks in an attempt to calm her.

"There is nothing wrong with you Santana." The singer said firmly, the strength of her words temporarily easing the Latina's pain, "I don't know what is takes to make someone act like that, to make a parent treat their own child so badly but there is something wrong with them and there is nothing wrong with you."

Santana was quiet but Rachel could feel the other girl shaking her head in disbelief, then the taller girl pulled back suddenly and tried to edge away from Rachel who only clung tighter. For a moment the two were almost wrestling, Santana trying to get away from the show of affection and Rachel desperately trying to show Santana she cared.

"Please, let me go." Santana sobbed half-heartedly as she collapsed back into welcoming arms, her strength depleted.

"It's okay." Rachel whispered gently, "It's going to be okay."

Santana whimpered as she buried her head against the smaller girls chest, her words muffled slightly as she spoke, the severity of the situation hitting her hard, "How? How is any of this going to be okay? My own Dad kicked me out, I'm homeless. I don't have a family, no-one wants me-"

"That is not true." Rachel replied, pulling back to look down into sad brown eyes, "I know you don't want to hear it, and that maybe you've been trying to convince yourself it's not true but the glee club is a family. It's dysfunctional and, okay, strangely incestuous when you think about it but every one of us cares about you."

"You shouldn't, I'm a bitch to everyone in that club."

"And yet they still care about you." The tiny singer argued, her eyes widening as she realised something, "You said it yourself, you act like a bitch to keep people away and to stop them getting attached to you. The fact is you've probably been a bigger bitch to the people in glee club than to anyone else."

"What's your point, Rachel?"

The singer smiled, "You had to be twice as mean to the rest of glee because you knew, you know, that we care about you and you've had to try extra hard to keep everyone at arm's length."

Santana let out a small sigh, it was true in a way she guessed. The glee club had been the first time in a long time that she felt she could finally have the opportunity to be close to people who weren't Britney. She had worked so hard to keep herself separate from them and make them hate her so she wouldn't have to deal with anyone finding out her secret.

"It's okay to let people in Santana, it's okay to need someone."

"I know that." Santana replied, her voice hoarse as she willed herself not to make eye contact, "But I know the more people who find out…about me, the more people will want me to report my Dad and I can't."

Rachel sighed, "I don't understand why you won't?"

"If I report him and…and people believe me, then he could lose his job and get struck-off, he could go to prison. The family would never speak to him again." Santana was quiet for a moment, her eyes sinking to the ground as she drew a deep breath, and admitted, "I can't do that to him. I've ruined his life enough without doing that to him too."

Rachel thought for a moment, she was so frustrated that she couldn't make the Latina see it wasn't her fault, "But what about what he's done to your life?"

Santana shifted awkwardly, as if sensing her discomfort the sky above them grew darker and a few droplets of rain began to fall, "It doesn't matter, I promised myself I wouldn't make things worse for him and I'm not going to."

Sensing the conversation had been pushed as far as it could be Rachel nodded, she wanted to argue but she knew that for the time being it would be pointless. She was stubborn at the best of times but Rachel knew this wasn't an issue she could simply persist with until she got her point across, it wasn't something she could solve with one of her trademark speeches.

As the rain began to fall heavier Rachel pulled herself to her feet and offered a hand to Santana who took it and hoisted herself up with a thankful smile. Checking her watch the smaller girl realised that it was a lot later than she thought, "We better head back, I figure we have time to shower and get to Breadsticks if we hurry!"

At the thought of her favourite restaurant Santana smiled, and as the two began to walk back to Rachel's car she allowed herself to grasp tightly onto the other girl's hand, her smile growing bigger when Rachel gave her hand a comforting squeeze in return.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Another update, a slightly shorter one this time with a little hint of Brittany. **

**Thanks again for all the reviews, you guys are awesome. A special ****thanks to ****ellowyntinuviel for our Pezberry banter over the last few days!**

The two girls had playfully bickered over who got the first shower the whole drive back, if only to distract themselves from an emotionally draining afternoon, with Rachel citing that is was her house and Santana citing she was the guest. In the end it was the Latina who had relented and graciously offered Rachel the first turn, while she took the opportunity to begin sorting through her things which had been dumped in the spare room earlier.

She had managed to unpack a surprisingly large amount of her things when Rachel's voice rang through the house informing her that the bathroom was all hers. Santana let out a low chuckle as she listened to Rachel shuffle down the hallway and into her bedroom all the while belting out the circle of life from the Lion King. With a grin Santana grabbed her towel and a few other things she needed and made her way to the bathroom, Rachel was just hitting her loudest and even as the Latina shut the door the door she could hear the words drifting through.

When she stepped out of the bathroom around twenty minutes later, drying her hair and clad only in her underwear, she could still hear Rachel singing the same song. As she made her way to what was now her room she quickly pulled on some clean clothes and set about drying her hair and doing her make-up. By this time Rachel had moved onto the theme song from Toy Story and Santana paused as she listened to her bounce downstairs, wondering if the other girl ever stopped singing. She had to smile though as the lyrics filtered through the house, _You've got a friend in me, _contemplating if Rachel was even aware of how apt the song was at that moment Santana smiled as she sang softly, _Hay un amigo en mi._

Shaking herself from her thoughts the former cheerleader finished getting herself ready and went downstairs to seek out Rachel, which was more difficult as she had finally stopped singing. Santana paused before heading into the kitchen where she was greeted with a huge smile.

"Good, you're ready. I called my Dads who gave me a list of food and I am starving!" the singer rambled, shaking a small piece of paper to prove her point, "So, Breadsticks?"

Rachel grabbed her keys and was practically out of the door before Santana could reply, with a grin she picked up her jacket and followed the smaller girl to her car. The drive to Breadsticks was light-hearted, the two singing along to whatever came on the radio and embracing some crazy dancing. When Rachel pulled up to the restaurant to park though Santana felt the mood in the car change, and with a frown she looked to the other girl, "Hey, you okay?"

Rachel nodded, with what Santana recognised as her fake-stage smile, "Sure. I can go grab the food if you want to stay in the car?"

Santana hesitated, her brain quickly reading between the lines of Rachel's seemingly innocent suggestion. With a sigh she shook her head, she knew Rachel was probably suggesting they hide their friendship to stop people asking questions but the Latina hated the fact that it so obviously hurt the singer to suggest. She knew Rachel didn't have a lot of close friends, and after everything they had shared recently Santana felt she owed the tiny brunette some loyalty. It was more than that really, Santana realised she didn't want to have to pretend to not like the girl next to her when in truth Rachel was the first person she had connected with on any level for a long time, with renewed determination the Latina smiled "I'm not ashamed to be seen with you Rach. So come on, we'z be goin' to Breadsticks!"

Rachel laughed at this, the tension melting away as she got out of the car and waited for Santana to join her. The two fell into step as they headed for the restaurant and Santana made a show of holding the door open for her friend, even bowing slightly as she walked in. They made their way to the counter and ordered more than enough food to feed an army before settling into a booth off to the side while they waited.

They chatted for a while about random things as Santana munched her way through a pile of Breadsticks the waiter had hurried brought over the second they had sat down and drank the complimentary drinks which had followed shortly, much to Rachel's amusement. In fact everything had been so upbeat Santana almost slapped herself for thinking it would stay that way. But as they picked up the food and headed for the exit a familiar laugh made the Latina stop, turning her head slightly she caught sight of Brittany sat in a booth off in the corner with Artie.

It had gotten easier the past few weeks to deal with Brittany's rejection and her failed attempts to win the blonde over with a heartfelt version of Songbird but seeing the happy couple together still made her heartache. Maybe it was the added misery of the past day, or she was running on emotional overload, but the sight brought a fresh wave of pain flowing through the Latina and she found herself hurriedly storming out the building, her mind vaguely aware of Rachel scurrying after her.

She was glad when Rachel stayed quiet and instead unlocked the car so they could slide in. Santana fought to hold herself together but after a few minutes she felt the tears begin to fall, her façade crumbling as she gave into the sobs which quickly racked her body. She winced slightly when Rachel leant across the car and pulled her into a hug; it was so unusual for someone to show her any kind of friendship apart from Brittany that she was still caught off guard by it.

"Sorry." Santana mumbled as she sniffed back the last of her tears, embarrassed at her sudden and unexpected meltdown. "I feel like all I've done recently is cry. You shouldn't have to deal with all this."

"It's okay." Rachel replied as she pulled back from the hug to look at the other girl, "I'm an excellent comforter as it turns out."

Santana laughed as she wiped streaks of mascara from her face, "That's true."

"Do you want to talk about it?" the singer asked hesitantly, knowing that the two former cheerleader's relationship wasn't something Santana willingly spoke about. Even after the week with Miss Holiday where it had been evident there was something more than friendship going on, the whole glee club knew better than to question either of the two about what was really going on between them.

"It's complicated." Santana admitted as she bit her lip and debated whether she could even explain what had happened. "I guess I…I mean I…fuck it, I love her okay?"

"I kind of figured that out after Landslide." Rachel smiled gently as she leant back in her seat, "So, what happened?"

Santana shrugged as she looked through the window where the rain had started to fall again, "I told her how I felt, she told me she loved me but that she was staying with Artie."

Rachel felt her jaw drop at the words, she had always thought that if Santana and Brittany would just admit their feelings and stop pretending they were only friends then everything would work out between the two of them. Perhaps it had been a romanticised notion but still, the diva did not expect that Brittany would ever rejected Santana. The Latina was known for being emotionally reserved so Rachel could only imagine how much it must have hurt her to bare her soul and not get the girl. Taking a deep breath and recovering slightly Rachel reached out to take one of her friends hands, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Santana said quietly as she resisted the urge to pull her hand away and make a trademark bitchy comment to cover her pain. Instead she took a deep breath, muttering bitterly, "Whatever. She's just another person who doesn't want me."

"San…"

"No." the Latina said adamantly, "It's better like this, for her anyway. She's happy with him and I'll get over it eventually. It was getting easier, y'know…not having to see them together every day since school let out. I didn't expect to freak out like that seeing them, I guess my defences are a little worn down with everything."

Rachel felt her heart clench, the way the other girl spoke made it all sound so factual; that Artie was better for Brittany than Santana, when it all sounded so untrue to Rachel. The fact her friend only viewed it as another time she wasn't wanted was heart-breaking, "It's her loss Santana."

The Latina gave a half-heart shrug in acknowledgment, the truth was she still struggled to believe anyone would want her for more than sex but she wasn't about to admit that to Rachel, or anyone else for that matter. Puck and Finn had both used her for sex, granted she had been the instigator with the later, Sam had used her to get back at Quinn and the Brittany pushed her into dealing with her feelings only to reject her when she finally accepted her sexuality, at least to the two of them, and offered something more than sweet lady kisses.

"If Brittany doesn't want me, what chance do I have?" Santana mumbled before she could stop her thoughts tumbling from her mouth.

"You will find someone who sees how awesome you are."

"Please, Britts knew me better than anyone and she rejected me the fastest." Santana said, letting out a bitter laugh as she stared at her friend almost challenging her to disagree, which of course she did.

"Did she know about your parents?" Rachel asked.

Santana frowned as she shook her head, "My mum was gone before me and Britts met and I got used to never talking about her and with my Dad…I love Brittany, I do, but I think we all know she's a little naïve and overly-trusting of me. So, the few times she did notice something it was pretty easy to spin a lie and pass it off as something it wasn't."

Rachel nodded, her hand gripping the other girl's tightly her determination solidifying "Brittany may have known you better than anyone, but she didn't know everything. You kept a big part of your life a secret from her, and I know why you did it but it still means that as good as your relationship was you always kept a least a little bit of yourself separate. The last day or so, the Santana I've seen is so different from the one I'm used to. I know there are a lot of different sides to you Santana, and there is someone out there who is going to love every one of them."

Santana felt new tears spring to her eyes, though for the first time she could describe them as happy tears, "You really believe that?"

"Absolutely." Rachel confirmed with a grin as she gave Santana's hand a final squeeze and moved back to her seat properly, "Now I don't know about you but I am starving!"

Santana's stomach let out a well-timed grumble and the two laughed, "Let's get our eats on!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Thanks again for all the reviews guys, really makes my day! I had a couple of people I wanted to reply to….**

**Ellowyntinuviel – My PezBerry partner in crime, thanks for sticking with me and inspiring some of the upcoming chapters :D **

**Denethion – There will be more Santana interaction with someone other than Rachel, but the fic is mostly focus on the PezBerry, Kurt will pop up for a bit as will Quinn and Brittany but I love me some Santana/Rachel.**

**Thesilentpath – I love your detailed reviews, it's awesome to see someone else's take on things and that i'm hopefully getting my ideas across properly! **

**And a few people have asked whether this is PezBerry friendship or relationship…well it's going to start off as friendship and then we'll see how things go…;) **

By the time the two girl's made their way home the Berry men had arrived back from their day out and were busy chatting animatedly in the living room where Hiram was stacking plates and cutlery and Leroy was busy trying to set up a DVD.

"The wanders return!" Hiram shouted with a grin as he gestured for the two girls to take their seats on the couch.

Leroy grabbed the food from Rachel and quickly set out dividing up the meals, though he hesitated as he picked up a second large bag in confusion, peering in he laughed "Is this what I think it is?"

"A year's supply of Breadsticks? Yes. Santana worked a little magic on the waiter." Rachel said with a laugh as she sat next to a grinning Latina.

"You are officially my favourite person Rachel has, or ever will, bring home." Leroy replied as he sunk down into one of the armchairs with his food and a stack of the infamous Breadsticks.

"Maybe next time we should send you and Santana to get the food, the staff were practically falling over each other to give us free stuff while we waited!" Rachel giggled as she watched her other Dad rummaging through the bags and pulling out various extras they had acquired.

"Garlic dip!" he shouted victoriously, as he finally took his seat across from his husband.

The two girl's shared a giggle before grabbing their own plates and sitting back to watch the news while Hiram and Leroy continued debating what DVD they should watch. While the two men debated the merits of horror versus comedy Santana leant over and with ninja-like stealth stole one of Rachel's vegan meatballs. Unfortunately for Santana she was so focused on her goal she left her own plate open and Rachel took the opportunity to steal one of the former cheerleaders potatoes with a big grin. And so the two found themselves happily sharing their meals, normally Santana hated sharing her food but the Latina found herself strangely glad she chose a vegan-friendly option for once.

Once all the food had been consumed the group collectively flopped back on their chairs with a groan, Rachel was about to happily complain about how full she was when the sound of a phone ringing caught everyone's attention. With a frown she turned to Santana, "You know that really should be off during dinner time."

Santana, slightly distracted by her friends statement, didn't look at the display before answering the call. If she had thought about it, there were more people she did not want to talk than she did so it was actually a pretty dumb idea to answer so casually, "Hello?"

From the first few seconds of the call Rachel knew something was wrong.

With a frown Santana held the phone closer to her ear and tried to make out the distorted sound, it took her a while to think to look down for the caller ID and when she did she felt her chest tighten. Holding the phone to her ear again she tried to ignore the hidden glances she was so obviously receiving.

"Is everything okay?" Hiram mouthed to Rachel when he finally caught her eye, but the diva could only shrug and shake her head. Whoever was on the other end of the phone was increasingly loud and the sound of angry Spanish was competing with the television at this point.

Santana took a deep breath as she pulled herself up from the couch with an apologetic look at Rachel and her Dads, she was suddenly very aware that although they couldn't understand the words they could definitely hear her conversation. As she stepped past Rachel and was about to leave the room she found herself stopped by a gentle hand on her arm, looking down she saw the singer staring back at her in concern.

Covering the phone, the Latina smiled sadly as she whispered, "It's my aunt and well…the rest of the family in the background. I guess the secret's out."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rachel asked hopefully.

Santana shook her head, her attention drawn back to her phone as the sound of screeching erupted from it, frowning for a second she let out a disappointed sigh as she heard her aunt ranting away about how she had brought shame to the Lopez name. Somehow she managed to bite her tongue but her calm resolve only lasted a few seconds before it reformed into an angry scowl, she felt her hand clench tightly around the phone and for a moment she feared it would snap in two.

As the words echoed in her head, she felt the anger inside her build. These people were her family, her blood, they were supposed to be the ones who loved her no matter what but here she was listening to them scream and shout about how disgusting she was. It was the last thing her aunt said though, that really sent Santana over the edge. As a barrage of pent up aggression and pain exploding from her, the Latina didn't spare much of a thought to how it must look to the older Berry men.

"Callate y escucha. No me importa lo que piensen de mí, puedes llamar nombres…no me importa." Santana shouted as she let rip down the handset, "Pero no pretendo que es la víctima aquí."

Santana knew her outburst wouldn't be enough to silence the woman on the other end of the phone and she did not want to spend any more time than she had to defending herself against all the hate being thrown at her. She was already emotionally exhausted and she couldn't take much more, so cutting off her aunt's new tirade she spat her final words down the phone, "Vete a la chingada!"

Not waiting for a reply Santana ended the call and just about resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room, she could feel her heart hammering away in her chest as she muttered quietly, "Puta."

In the quiet of the room, the only sound coming from the television, Santana heard her words carry across the tense stillness. With an apologetic look on her face the Latina turned to face the Berry's.

Hiram offered her a smile, "I may not speak a lot of Spanish, but I know what that means-"

"Sorry." The Latina blushed, cursing her foul-mouth. She knew she was on thin ice with Rachel's parents as it was, she hadn't meant to cause such a scene so soon, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Hiram interrupted, gesturing for her to sit down, which she did "What I was going to say was, I don't speak a lot of Spanish but I don't think I need to in order to understand what that was about."

"Hate sounds the same in every language." Santana agreed sadly, her eyes falling as she shook her head dejectedly.

Leroy nodded, leaning forward to stack his empty plate on top of the others he asked, "So, what happened?"

"He called everyone this morning and filled them on his version of events; y'know the one in which I'm some filthy dyke that he had to kick out for shaming the family, while he's the victim." Santana spat, her eyes screwed shut as she keep her head down, "My Dad isn't the only close-minded bigot in my family so it didn't take a lot of convincing for them to all get together and hold a _We-Hate-Santana _party so they could all call me and let me know I'm definitely off the Christmas card list."

Rachel reached out slowly to take a tan hand in her own, "I'm sorry San."

"Yeah, whatever." The Latina shrugged, taking her hand back as she opened her eyes and quickly stood from her place on the sofa. Trying to appear nonchalant she hurriedly picked up the dirty plates and headed for the kitchen, she wasn't prepared to drag everyone's evening down with hers and she needed an excuse to get away from the increasingly suffocating room.

As soon as she made it to the kitchen she placed the plates in the sink and found herself grasping on to the counter as she leant over it, her eyes screwed shut once again as she fought back her tears. She was so sick of crying but she felt like it was all she could do, she was powerless to stop what was happening and she hated it.

"Santana?"

The Latina jumped as she spun round; absent-mindedly wiping away the few tears she had been unable to stop. As her eyes focused on Leroy she offered him a small smile, she had already broken down enough times in front of Rachel to know it was going to happen again. Turning back to face the sink she tried to lighten the mood, to convince herself she was actually okay, "I can't believe you guys have a fully working espresso machine and no dishwasher."

She could hear Leroy's footsteps as he padded across the kitchen and soon he was stood next to her, and as he reached out to place one of his large hands on her forearm Santana felt her resistance crumble. The tears came first, she tried to hold them back but when Leroy moved to brush back the hair she had been using to obscure her face the Latina gave in.

Santana let the sobs come as Leroy gathered her into his arms, his large frame easily holding on to her small one. The two stayed silent until the Latina managed to calm herself down, her tears slowing she pulled back from the hug with a sheepish smile, "Sorry…I think I ruined your sweater."

"I have other sweaters." Leroy replied as he looked at the girl in front of him, "Are you okay?"

"Not really." Santana sighed with a shake of her head; she knew it was pointless to lie so she settled for another apology, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"Don't worry about us sweetie. Hiram and I aren't exactly strangers to this kind of situation." The older man said, his own eyes clouding over as he added, "Hiram's lucky, his parents have been nothing but supportive from day one but I know what it's like to have your family abandon you for something you can't change, Santana. When my parents found out that Hiram and I were more than college room-mates they cut off all contact with me. It was like I never existed to them."

Santana blinked in surprise, "What…what did you do? What happened?"

"Well, I'd like to say they changed their minds and they realised that love is love no matter who it's between but…the truth is my parents and I haven't spoken in a very long time." Leroy answered quietly, his eyes lingering sadly on the floor before lifting up to the look at the girl in front of him, "After I finished college I started my life with Hiram, we moved in together and found our own career paths and then some years later we had Rachel and my parents have never met her. Although it's not how I would have chosen my life to work out between myself and my parents, the fact is I am happy with the family I have and the home I've made."

Santana smiled at the change in the man, the way his eyes lit up when he spoke of his husband and his daughter and the Latina felt her own spirits lift at his words. "I…I hope…"

When the Latina trailed off Leroy waited patiently for her, he trusted his intuition to let the young girl speak when she was ready. He had a feeling she wasn't used to vocalising her feelings to anyone, let alone someone she had just met.

"I hope…I hope I can have that someday, y'know…meet a girl who actually loves me back and have a real family." Santana finally mumbled, shifting awkwardly. She hated how uncomfortable she felt talking about her feelings, about what she wanted for the future but the truth was she had tried to ignore it for so long that it was all new territory for her. She had denied her own sexuality for years and even though Leroy was gay, for some reason she still expected some weird reaction which made absolutely no sense.

"You will." Leroy said sincerely, reaching a hand out to place on the Latina's arm "And for the time being, you have all of the Berry's here for you okay?"

Santana let a big smile grace her features, nodding quickly she found herself speechless as she looked at the man. She was finding it hard to believe that it was so easy for either of Rachel's Dad's to forgive her for what she had done to their daughter and let her into their family but she was working on convincing herself because if the Berry's could try and wipe that slate clean then so could she. Hovering for a second, Santana looked up at Leroy contemplating something.

As if reading her mind, Leroy smiled and pulled her into another hug, this time it was a much happier embrace. With a matching smile Santana returned the hug fiercely, enjoying the feeling of safety and calm she found there. When the two moved apart the Latina whispered her thanks.

"Everything okay in here?" Rachel asked, her voice drifting through the kitchen as she appeared in the doorway.

"We're good pumpkin." Leroy replied as he shuffled away from the sink, giving Santana's arm one last reassuring squeeze as he headed past his daughter, dropping a kiss in her forehead as he exited the room. "I think I'm going to find a good movie to put on if you girl's wanted to join us?"

Rachel nodded, "Sure thing Dad."

Once Leroy had made his way out of the kitchen Rachel slowly wandered over to where Santana had moved to linger by the stools at the breakfast bar. The two stood awkwardly for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak.

"Your Dad is all kinds of awesome, you get that right?" Santana said finally with a grin.

Rachel laughed, "Well, it's runs in the family."

"I'm starting to get that." Santana said with a laugh as she playfully nudged the other girl, her smile disappearing slightly as she whispered, "I'm sorry for everything back there. I didn't mean to turn your evening into a bad soap opera."

"It's alright." Rachel replied instantly, "But I…I'm sorry I didn't come after you sooner-"

The Latina interrupted quickly, "You have nothing to be sorry for Rach, seriously I shouldn't have let her get me so angry."

"It's not your fault." The singer half-shouted, her tone dropping as she smiled sheepishly "And I mean I know my Dad is great but we're friends I should have been here for you. It's just…"

"Just what?" Santana queried, not following where her friend was going.

Rachel shrugged, her voice coming out small as she looked down to where her hand was nervously picking at a loose thread, "I was upset."

Santana frowned as she observed the uncharacteristically apprehensive girl.

"I was upset that your family could ever treat you like that and I guess it hit a little close to home. I know my grandparents on my Dad's side won't even talk to him or me because he's gay and I wish I could do something more, you know? For you and him." the singer continued her eyes meeting with Latina's "I wish I could be stronger for you San, but knowing everything you're going through…I feel so useless."

The Latina felt her eyes widen in surprise at the other girls words, "You're being exactly the opposite Ray, you let me into your home, you listened to all my crap…I mean, and you're the first person I've thought of as a friend since Brittany, in a really long time."

Rachel smiled at this, her face lighting up as she bounced up and down, "We're friends?"

The Latina nodded a little embarrassed at her own declaration, "Well, yeah. I mean if you want to be."

The smaller girl didn't even nod before launching herself forwards and wrapping her arms around her newly declared friend, "Of course I do."

Santana smiled, holding tightly on to the smaller girl she let out a sigh, "There is one thing though Ray…"

Rachel pulled away slightly to look at the darker girl, a quick smile on her face at the new nickname she nodded.

"You don't have to be strong for me all the time okay? I mean, seriously I appreciate it and as much as I hate to admit it…I need it because a lot of the time I feel like I'm just trying not to break." Santana whispered as Rachel linked their hands together, "But you shouldn't have to take the weight of my world on your shoulders."

"But I want to be there for you." the diva replied softly, her eyes staring deliberately into Santana's in an attempt to make her understand, "It's what friends do."

"And again, I am grateful." Santana pressed, her head tilting to the side as she tried to get her point across, "But it's a lot to ask of anyone, too much if we're being honest with ourselves, so please…if this all gets too much, you have to tell me okay? I don't want you to be upset because of me, or because of my so-called familia."

"I can't promise I won't get upset." Rachel started, sending the other girl a look when she tried to interrupted, "I can't promise that because I'm your friend and if something happens to hurt you, to upset you, then I can't help feeling bad too. But I can promise that I will tell you if it gets too much."

Santana smiled as she weighed up the response, nodding her head she agreed "Okay."

"Good, so now that is settled I'm pretty sure I just heard the opening music to Star Wars."

The Latina tried to hide her unimpressed look, but gave up quickly when she saw Rachel grimacing too. With a chuckle the smaller girl pulled her out of the kitchen and back into the living room where they saw Leroy and Hiram already deeply engrossed in the movie, edging behind the sofa the two girl's stopped and as Rachel grabbed their things she mumbled a vague excuse and ushered Santana out of the room.

Hurrying up the stairs Rachel let out a groan as she heard her Dad's cheering the action on, she couldn't count how many times her Dads had made her sit through the saga in exchange for them having to sit through one of her musicals but there was no way she was going through that again. When they reached the top of the stairs Rachel led the way to her room and pushing open her door she was relived to find everything in perfect order. She had cleaned up as best she could earlier when Santana had been in the shower; mostly re-organising some things and changing her covers were they had stained with blood over the night.

Shaking away the memories Rachel gestured for Santana to sit while she scanned her own DVD collection, "Any preferences?"

The Latina shook her head as she hopped onto the double bed and made herself comfortable amongst the pillows and cushions. She watched the diva deliberate for a few minutes before she changed her mind, "Actually, do you have Toy Story?"

"Toy Story?"

"Uh-huh…the third one?"

Rachel beamed as she quickly picked it from her selection and set it up on her television before joining Santana on the bed. Once they were both comfortable she hit play, the two girls smiling as they lost themselves in the animated world.


	7. Chapter 7

When Santana woke up the next morning she was momentarily disorientated, it took her a few minutes to work out that she was in Rachel's room. The yellow walls surrounding her were so bright that the Latina simply groaned and let her head fall back on the pillow. She didn't remember making a conscious decision to stay the night with the diva, and judging on the fact both she and Rachel were still fully dressed, she came to the conclusion that they must have fallen asleep watching the movie.

Glancing at the clock next to her she read, _10.34am_, and with another groan she flipped over to face the still sleeping singer. She had to bite back a laugh at the crazy angles Rachel's hair was sticky out at, her hand quickly smoothing down her own, before smiling at how content the smaller girl looked.

"It's creepy to watch people sleep, you know that right?" Rachel asked without opening her eyes.

The Latina jumped at the sudden noise, "Geez, how long have you been playing dead?"

"Only a few minutes." The diva replied with a smile as she let out a yawn and opened her eyes, "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did actually." Santana said, mildly shocked that she had managed to sleep fully clothed and without any bad dreams about what had happened a few nights before. "You?"

"Yep, I dreamt about how I was going to wake up and claim the first shower." The diva replied with a grin, "Shotgun!"

Santana could only laugh as the other girl hopped gracefully out of bed and grabbed her towel while the Latina rolled over and gazed at the ceiling. As the sound of water came trickling through the walls she decided to make use of the espresso machine she had spied in the kitchen yesterday.

It took her a couple of minutes to motivate herself to get out of the overly comfortable bed but when she did she hurried to get own room to change into a clean pair of sweats and a tank before wandering downstairs. When she entered the kitchen she was happy to find Leroy already huddled over the coffee machine with a sleepy expression.

"Hey." Santana said brightly as she hopped onto one of the kitchen stools and began pulling her hair into a loose braid in an attempt to calm the just rolled out of bed look she was currently rocking.

"Hey." Leroy replied with a lot less cheer as he flicked his eyes between the teenager and the unusually slow machine.

"I see you're a morning person." The Latina joked, her laughter increasing as the older man scowled playfully. "You want some help with that?"

Leroy nodded as he let out a groan and dragged himself over to one of the other stools as Santana set about making the drinks, "I can't believe I let Hiram talk me into trying to watch the whole saga in one go. You know that would take thirteen hours?"

"How far did you get?"

"I managed the first two but I think I saw about ten minutes of the third before I fell asleep, Hiram made it about twenty minutes in and we woke up just in time for the ending credits. My back is not happy about it." Leroy grumbled as he gratefully accepted one of the coffees Santana offered him, taking a big sip he grinned "But this almost makes up for it. That's a good cuppa joe."

Santana smiled as she picked up her own and took a sip when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, "What is that doing there?"

Leroy spun in his stool to follow the girls gaze, he smiled as he saw what she was looking at, "Oh that, it's amazing right? I found it on the table yesterday."

Santana nodded, her stare firmly placed on her drawing of Rachel which now hung proudly on the wall by the kitchen door. She wondered how she hadn't noticed it yesterday but figured she had been to caught up in the drama, with a frown the Latina murmured "It's mine."

"Seriously?" the older man replied, obviously impressed as he swung back to face Santana, "You're really talented. Do you have any other drawings with you?"

Santana half-nodded and half-shrugged as she stared down at her mug in disinterest, "Yeah."

"I'd love to see them." Leroy continued, confused at the young girls reaction especially when she barely acknowledged his request. Watching her wearily he frowned, "Did I say something wrong?"

Santana shook her head but remained quiet as she stared down.

Reaching out a hand Leroy placed one of his over the Latinas, glad when she didn't pull away and instead looked up at him. He was surprised to see how sad she looked and with a gentle smile he asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just being stupid…" Santana sighed as she gestured to the drawing on the wall, "But that picture is one of the reasons my Dad kicked the crap out of me. He wants to fucking burn them and you, you put them on your wall."

Leroy let out his own sigh as he gave the Latina a sympathetic smile, "You should be proud of your work Santana, you're an incredible artist and I'm sure if your Dad wasn't so involved in hating the subject matter then he would see that too. He is a fool not to realise how lucky he is to have you as a daughter."

Santana bit her lip in thought, she knew her own Dad would never see her as anything other than a disappointment and in truth she'd accepted that a long time ago when her mother had left. But hearing Leroy's words made her heart soar as she smiled, allowing herself to think that maybe she wasn't so bad after all. If the man in front of her could see some worth in her than she was willing to accept the praise she craved, "Thank you."

Seeing the tears in the Latina's eyes he gave Santana's hand a quick squeeze, hardly able to believe that the girl he had once heard about as being loud, overly confident and mean was actually so insecure. The more time he spent with the young girl the more he saw behind the walls she had clearly been hiding behind and the more he wanted to dig her out from her own prison, "You know since it turns out you're the artist behind that drawing, maybe I could ask a favour?"

Santana perked up as she eyed the man in wonder, "Okay, shoot."

"Well, Hiram's cousin Cal…the one we visited yesterday? He has been looking for someone to do a family portrait for him. It's his wife's birthday in a couple of weeks and he wants to get her something original." Leroy said, with a glint of hope in his eyes "And what better than a Santana Lopez original?"

"Wait, you want to trust me with someone's birthday present?"

Without missing a beat Leroy grinned, "Of course. In fact, I'm going to call Cal now and get him to email me over some of the photos he was showing us. You don't have to say yes right now, but maybe you could look them over and see what you think?"

"Erm…yeah, okay." Santana breathed, trying to look casual as the excitement rose. No-one had ever asked her to do something like this, she only hoped she'd be good enough.

"Awesome!" Leroy said as he clapped his hands together, picking up his dirty cup and putting it in the sink as he bounced happily, "You're an angel…an angel who gets me free breadsticks, makes me coffee and helps out in art related emergencies. Huh, maybe we should build you an extension to that room or an en-suite."

"I can think of better ways to repay me." The Latina said shyly.

Leroy bit his lip as he thought for a second, "What is it? New car, tickets to see someone I've never heard off…no wait, you want me to make you dinner for a week? Or…tell you all my embarrassing stories about Rachel?"

"Well, while that last one is tempting…" Santana joked, hesitating for a second while she wondered if she was about to seem a little desperate for attention "I'd settle for a hug."

She was glad when Leroy didn't so much as pause before wrapping his giant arms around her, pulling her slightly backwards from her stool as he her held her tightly to his chest. Santana giggled as he rocked them from side to side playfully, she couldn't remember the last time she had hugged her own father or her mother or anyone aside from Brittany, not like this anyway. She loved the way Leroy could make her feel like everything was going to be okay.

Letting go of the Latina, Leroy ruffled her hair before bounding out of the kitchen with a smile, "I'm going to call Cal, if you want any breakfast there's some food in the fridge. Help yourself!"

Santana grinned as she hopped up from her seat, putting on a fresh batch of coffee she pulled out some things from the fridge and set about making a quick fruit salad. When she was done she surveyed her work happily and pulling out a couple of bowls she went to see if Rachel was done with her shower. She only made it a couple of steps before the diva appeared in the doorway like magic.

"Good timing." Santana said.

Rachel beamed as she came into the kitchen her gaze falling on the table, "You made breakfast."

"Yup." Santana replied as she gestured for the singer to take a seat, "Dig in."

Rachel did as she was told and sliding into her seat she waited for Santana to join her before they both tucked in. A few minutes passed in a comfortable silence, each of the girl's enjoying their breakfast and it was only when the doorbell rang that the quiet was broken. Santana barely looked up as Rachel headed out of the kitchen to get the door but when she heard the sound of muffled voices she dropped her spoon.

She could make out the sound of two voices and it didn't take her long to work out who the visitor was. Kurt. She'd recognise his voice anywhere, and as the sound of the door closing didn't make his voice stop Santana realised he wasn't going anywhere. Her first reaction was to panic, she knew that although she felt better her face was still pretty much a mess and that there was not much chance she could hide it from anyone. As the voices drew closer Santana held her breath, her heart racing she felt her body going in to fight or flight and she honestly didn't know what was going to happen. When she realised Rachel had taken Kurt into the living room she let out a sigh of relief, her eyes snapping up as she heard someone enter the kitchen.

Rachel was by her side quickly, her face anxious as she addressed the Latina, "So, and I promise I didn't know beforehand, Kurt is here."

"Okay." Santana replied neutrally.

"He said Blaine is away for the week so he's not coming and I guess he figured he and I could go together and-"

Holding up a hand Santana effectively silenced the girl, "Hold up. What are you talking about?"

"The picnic." Rachel said simply, as if that solved all confusion.

"Picnic?"

The singer sighed with a roll of her eyes, "Let me guess, you left your phone upstairs? Finn text saying it was about time for a glee summer-reunion, he said everyone was going. There's a spot down at the park by the lake that Mercedes and her family always go to for barbeques. It'll be great. I mean Kurt is insanely early but still…we can hang out first, maybe go and pick up some food and some drinks?"

"Oh." Santana replied, shifting in her seat with a shrug as her expression hardened "I think I'll pass."

Rachel sensed the Latina's walls going up and was quick to pounce, "We don't have to tell them anything about your Dad or you living here if you don't want to, we'll just say you got in a fight or something, no details necessary."

"Look Ray, I appreciate it but I'm not going so drop it."

"So, you're just going to sit about and mope all day?" the singer replied her voice getting angrier as something popped into her head, "Are you so worried that people will think we're friends you'd rather do that than come with me?"

Santana looked up quickly, "No!"

The singer continued on regardless, "Because I thought you said you didn't care what people think!"

"I don't!"

"Then why won't you come?" Rachel practically shouted, forgetting that Kurt was only in the next room.

"Because I wasn't fucking invited! Are you happy now?" Santana yelled as she whipped her phone out and tossed it on the counter, enjoying the satisfying clunk it made as it hit the hard surface. She had her phone in her pocket the whole morning and it hadn't made a single sound, no calls and no messages, the blank screen shone up at her mocking her as it proved her point.

Rachel was stunned into silence as she too stared at the phone, "Well…I…it's obviously a mistake."

"No, it's not." Santana sighed, she wasn't angry so much as she was hurt at the clear sign she had received from the glee club "They don't want me around. I pushed them away, I was a complete bitch and now they hate me so why would they invite me anywhere? I'm not a part of their family. It's fine. I made my choice and this is just how it is."

Rachel shook her head, her eyes sad as she looked at her friend wondering how no one had ever noticed how miserable she clearly was, she hated the idea that Santana had pushed people away when she needed them the most, "It doesn't have to be your final choice, the glee club is all for forgiveness. Everyone in that club has acted poorly on at least one occasion and they still pull together."

"I know that and I dunno maybe…maybe I could build a few bridges or whatever with some of them but…"

"But what?" Rachel queried as Santana trailed off, her mouth curved down as her shoulders slumped.

"Ray…I can't be around any more people who don't want me…please, I just can't okay?" Santana pleaded as she practically begged for the other girl to understand. Her defences were all but torn apart and she didn't know how she would react if things went badly with the glee club.

"Alright." The smaller girl whispered, a sad smile on her face as she nodded. "But you need to know that all the bad stuff aside, the glee club will be there for you. If you give them a chance, I think they'll surprise you."

Santana shrugged in response, on one hand she didn't doubt how far the friendship of the glee club could be stretched, after all they were constantly swapping partners and cheating and getting through pregnancies and trips to juvie, but she wondered if that type of friendship would be extended to her. It wasn't really something she was willing to test right now.

When the other girl stayed quiet Rachel let out a sigh, she wished she could make Santana see that the group would support her but she wasn't going to push the issue. She knew if she did the Latina would more than likely resort to closing herself back up and the singer had finally gotten to the point where she could call Santana a friend, she wasn't about to jeopardise that.

"Rachel? What are doing in there? Who are you talking to?"

When Kurt's voice drifted in from the living room both girls were snapped back to reality, Santana barely had time to react when the sound of light footsteps padding in their direction filled the now tense kitchen. She wanted to hide, in fact she was half-way out of her seat and towards the back door when Kurt suddenly appeared in front on them. She saw the way his confused stare flicked from her to Rachel before settling on her. It was then she remembered she was basically wearing her laziest outfit; her hair was an admittedly sexy mess and now she had tied it back her battered features were on clear display. She had only had a brief look in the mirror that morning but it was enough to know that one of her eyes was still black and her lip while no longer swollen was still cut.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked as he took a step towards the girls, his eyes finally leaving his inspection of the Latina to look at Rachel with a raised eyebrow.

Rachel knew if she didn't reply that her silence would speak volumes but she honestly had no idea what she should do. Normally she would launch into a well-practised speech about the virtues of not revealing other people's business but her brain wouldn't seem to connected to her mouth for once. So she turned to look at Santana with questioning eyes, hoping the Latina would help.

"I…I'm staying with Rachel for a bit." Santana said calmly, her eyes staring through Kurt as she pushed her emotions back and placed her familiar armour back on. "Not that it's any of your business."

"San…"Rachel said wearily as she watched the eyes that had become warm and open quickly replaced with a guarded glare.

The Latina felt her shoulders sag at the disappointed tone, she cursed her natural defence mechanism and with a lot of effort she bit back the pointless insults that were spewing into her brain. She tried telling herself that of all the people that could have turned up at the Berry household and caught her like this then Kurt was actually one of the best. Although they had a pretty bad history, mostly of Santana making jokes at his expense, Kurt was also one of the most understanding of the glee club. He knew what it was like to have to deal with your sexuality and what it was like to be victimised because of it.

"Wait, I'm sorry but did I miss something?" Kurt wondered, his eyes wide with disbelief "Since when are you two friends? And since when do you address each other by your actual names?"

There was hint of playfulness to the last question that made both girl's smile, they knew he was caught off guard by the whole thing and that he would doubtlessly have worked out the situation was probably not based on any particularly pleasant events. Santana let out a small chuckle, which quickly faded out as she looked at the boy who had now moved to hover next to Rachel so they formed a loose circle in the middle of the kitchen with the Latina still eyeing the door.

"It's like Santana said, she needed a place to stay so I offered her my guest room."

Kurt nodded, and Santana knew he didn't believe that was the whole story but he didn't push it. He simply nodded and offered a sympathetic smile. Normally that would have annoyed her but for whatever reason, today, she was thankful for it and taking a deep breath, she wondered if maybe she would be okay with testing one potential friendship with a last look at Rachel she swallowed hard and managed to choke out, "Yeah…my, my Dad…kicked me out."

Kurt's reaction was immediate, his face fell and concern fled his features "What? Why? Because you got in a fight?"

"What?" Santana asked, momentarily thrown by the fact he didn't simply shrug it off.

The young boy gestured vaguely to his own face as he replied, "The bruises?"

"Oh, right…" the Latina mumbled, "No that's not why." Kurt pursed his lips and Santana could see him trying to work out what the hell had happened and unable to bare the tension anymore she tried to continue, "He kicked me out because I-"

"Because you?" Kurt pursued as the Latina seemed to stop in her tracks.

Staring down at the floor Santana ran a hand over her face, she knew it should be easy to tell Kurt after all he was gay so it wasn't like he was going to flip out at her or anything but she was so used to deny her true self it felt weird to say that words. Dragging her eyes back up she ignored the way her throat seemed to be constricting, "I'm gay."

Santana watched the young boys face flood with a mixture of expressions, the first one seemed to be shock that she was telling him which was closely followed by something that looked a lot like _I knew it_, then he gave her a huge smile which gave way to a bigger frown and an eventually angry scowl as he half-yelled, "Wait…he kicked you out for being gay? How could he do that?"

"He's kind of an asshole." Santana replied dryly, her mood lifting slightly as she felt Rachel shuffle closer to her in support. The next words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them, "An asshole with a serious anger management issue."

Kurt's eyes widened as he looked between the two girls as the realisation hit him, "He did that to you?"

Santana nodded, a sad smile gracing her features she subconsciously lifted a hand to her face "Can't all have supportive Dads; I guess you got the golden ticket with yours."

"I'm so sorry Santana." He whispered, taking a step forward he hesitated, unsure of what to do he settled for a warm smile, "Is there anything I can do? I mean I know Rachel probably has everything covered, complete with PowerPoint presentations and diagrams…"

The Latina laughed as Rachel jokingly huffed next to her, "I'm okay but…I'd really appreciate it if we could keep this between us, for now anyway. I'm not exactly ready for people to know about my Dad and definitely not feeling up to marching in the pride parade yet. It's just….everything is kind of full on right now, y'know?"

"I understand." Kurt nodded, his eyes meeting the Latina's he added "I'm really proud of you Santana, I know this isn't easy but if you need someone to talk to I'm all ears, okay? I mean it's the least I can do, after you stood up to Karofsky for Blaine and me."

Santana fought to keep her calm exterior, and hoping Kurt wouldn't noticed her blinking back a wave of tears she nodded and gave him a big smile.

"Great." Kurt beamed, clapping his hands together, "So how about this picnic girls?"

"I'm not so sure…" Rachel began, her eyes drifting to the Latina. She didn't want to ditch her new friend to see the club.

Santana rolled her eyes, "What she means is, she'd love to but I have other plans today."

"You do?" Kurt asked wearily, sensing the brunette might be trying to avoid seeing the choir.

"I do." Santana replied firmly, turning to face Rachel "I'm helping your Dad with something, in fact I should probably go and see where he is. So, you two go and have fun."

Rachel frowned sceptically, "You made plans with my Dad?"

"Uh-huh." The Latina said casually, "So if you don't mind you guys are actually getting in the way, so hustle your asses and go meet everyone before you get so caught up in my drama you're late."

"Actually we have little time before-"

"Go!" Santana shouted with a laugh as she pointed to the door, "Have fun!"

With a salute Rachel gave Kurt a gentle shove and ushered him from the kitchen, as she passed Santana she gave her friend a huge smile and pulled her into a hug, "If you change your mind, come join us okay? Otherwise, I'll call you later?"

"Sounds good Ray."

The singer grinned, "Good. See you later 'Ana."

Santana chuckled at the nickname as she released the diva from the embrace and watched her join Kurt who smiled and offered her a wave before they left. Letting out a happy sigh Santana hoped this was a sign of good things to come.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - I know I sound like a broken record but thanks again for the reviews! I love reading them and it's really good to get feedback on everything. Quick note; all Spanish in this chapter and well the whole story is a mix of good old google translate and some of my own basic knowledge. Sorry!**

**I have a few particular people I wanted to thank before I move on…**

**Thesilentpath; I love getting your reviews, I hope I do the Finn and Quinn reactions justice in later chapters. **

**Lov2Travel; I somehow always end up working them into my stories even though we know basically nothing about them so I would love to see Rachel's Dads in season 2. Glad you're enjoying the story, there's not enough PezBerry out there! **

**And of course ellowyntinuviel; ah the angst that comes from debating the double-edged sword that is the glee club and its supportive/judgemental juxtaposition on…everything. I have so many more ideas brewing….**

Over the next few days Santana and Rachel fell into an unspoken routine, they bantered over breakfast and spent the mornings going for a run or challenging each other to some workout or another and then after lunch they studied. Santana had never spent her summer being so productive, normally she slept till noon and watched trashy television until Puck called her to haul ass to some lame party or another. Instead with Rachel by her side she's drawn more than ever before, she's caught up on all her school work, learnt and practiced a bunch of scales and even had time to learn a little basic Hebrew. After all, she figured it never hurts to be able to be a smartass in three languages.

Santana sat on the couch in the living room with a mass of paper and sketchpads spread around her, she had been working on the drawing for Cal for a while now and was finally at the stage where she was beginning to feel proud of it. It had taken her a while to decide from the mass of pictures the man had sent over but in the end Santana had chosen two because she had been unable to pick between a beautiful picture of the woman she had been told was called Jen, and another of Jen and Cal on their wedding day.

The Latina was just setting down her sketchpad when Rachel stomped into the room and flopped down unceremoniously on the chair opposite her. Crossing her arms and throwing her head back to glare at the ceiling the singer mumbled, "Your stupid language is stupid."

"On behalf of my language, I apologise." the former cheerleader laughed, but played along, "Would you accept a taco as a formal apology?"

"That's racist." The singer deadpanned as she looked at the other girl, a smile eventually cracking through, "And you're not Mexican."

Santana chuckled, pushing her work aside she shuffled over to lean on the arm of the couch and looking at the singer she saw she was holding a small book, with a quick swipe she stole it from her hand and read the cover, "_Spanish For Dummies?"_

"It was that or the _Idiots Guide to Spanish _and this one was cheaper." The singer explained, rolling her head to stare at the Latina, "I have a paper due on the first day back and an oral presentation about what we did over summer…so far I have, Fui al parque, which I don't think is going to impressed Mr Schue that much."

"Maybe he'll think you had a really crappy summer." Santana offered with a chuckle.

"It's not funny, it's embarrassing." The singer groaned, her face dropping into as she added sadly, "Estoy embarazada."

Santana felt her eyes pop as she heard the singer, she tried to hide her smile but it was no good. Her laughter echoed around the room as she broke down in hysterics, leaving the diva staring at her in confusion. When it became clear that the Latina wasn't about to stop any time soon Rachel let out a loud huff as she pulled herself upright in the chair, "Santana!"

Hearing the scolding tone the taller girl managed to fight back her giggles, and with a lot of effort she faced her friend. Wiping away a few tears that had escaped she choked out, "Oh god…sorry. I shouldn't laugh…but estoy embarazada does not mean that you're embarrassed Ray."

"Oh." Rachel mumbled, her eyes widening as she asked, "What does it mean?"

"It means you're pregnant."

Rachel blushed furiously as her mouth opened and closed a few times before let out a small, "Opps. Now I feel stupid."

"Better you find out now than mid-way through your presentation." Santana laughed, "Otherwise Mr Schue might think you had a really eventful summer!"

"You are a funny, funny lady."

The Latina grinned as she slumped back on the couch and tossed the book on the table by her sketches, "That I am. But, why would you even buy this stupid book? I mean, you have noticed I'm living here right?"

Rachel pulled herself up to sit properly in her chair, "Are you offering me your services?"

The Latina raised an eyebrow but managed to bite back the dirty response that came flooding into her brain, although from Rachel's blush she knew she diva had thought something similar, with a grin she replied "Just call me Dora." a frown following as she changed her mind, "Actually, on second thought maybe don't. That probably would be a little racist."

Rachel giggled as she bounced up from the chair and sat next to Santana on the couch, "So that means you'll help me?"

"What are friends for?" the taller girl said with a shrug, "You'll be fluent by the end of the summer…or you know, at least you won't be telling people you're knocked up!"

"Yay, thank you!" Rachel squealed as she clapped her hands together, "So teach me something…"

"Now?"

Rachel nodded, "Yes, a word-of-the-day if you will."

Santana bit her lip as she contemplated the idea, with a nod she turned to face the small girl and Rachel mirrored her so they were both sat cross-legged, "Okay, how about…no seas pendejo."

"Are you teaching me to swear?" the diva asked with a pout. "Because I'm starting to wonder if you know any Spanish that isn't swearing."

"Come on." the Latina laughed, as she playfully nudged the other girl's knee, "It only means, don't be a jackass, nothing totally obscene. I promise it will come in useful at some point."

Rachel sighed and dutifully repeated the phrase, a small grin on her face when Santana praised her pronunciation. The Latina leant back slightly, a smile on her face "You know I always figured Mr Schue would give you like, an automatic A…"

"He wouldn't even let me sing Shakira for extra credit!" the diva replied in disbelief, her head shaking from side to side, "I learnt all the lyrics to _Suerte_ and he wouldn't even let me try!"

"It's an outrage." Santana agreed, throwing a wink in her friends direction.

"Okay, okay…make fun of me all you want." The singer ranted, sticking her tongue out "But you have to teach me to say something nice…something that will actually help me pass this class."

Santana thought for a moment, she tried to piece together sentences she knew would work but it all seemed so boring and mundane. She could teach her friend to talk about going to the beach and seeing friends or talking about picnics or days with her fathers, and she knew that she would eventually get around to it but for now an idea popped into her head. Straightening her posture Santana took a deep breath and gathered her courage, "Okay…este verano, me salvo la vida de mi amigo."

Rachel frowned as she tried to translate the words, "What does that mean?"

"You have to say it first." Santana replied, quietly "Este verano…"

"Este verano, me salvo la vida de mi amigo" Rachel echoed, following the Latina's direction, "What does it mean?"

Santana was quiet for a moment before she looked up and caught her friends stare, with a shrug the Latina was glad her casual demeanour was overridden but the sincerity in her voice, "This summer, I saved my friend's life."

Rachel's eyes widened, and stunned by the intensity of the moment she fell silent.

Taking the other girl's silence the wrong way Santana raced to explain, "I know it sounds dramatic and I'm sorry but I…I don't know what I would have done without you this summer. We weren't even friends when my life was falling apart but you still caught me."

Snapping out of her reverie Rachel threw herself forward and wrapped the babbling girl in a tight hug, "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Returning the hug Santana relaxed at little, "Well it's true. You could have slammed the door in my face when I turned up here; you could have offered me a bed for the night and then thrown me out or made me call someone else. I mean, it would have made more sense considering our…history together but you didn't."

"I would never have done that." The diva replied, as she pulled back from the hug to look at her friend.

"I know that now." Santana smiled, her eyes dropping as she fiddled with her sleeve, "But I stood on your doorstep for almost twenty minutes before I rang the bell. I knew if you said no then that was it for me, I don't think I would have gone to one of those shelters instead…I would have given up."

Rachel felt her throat tighten, "You mean…"

Santana nodded, sniffing back her tears, "I was miserable even before everything with my Dad, he was the final straw I guess, but I hadn't been okay for a long time and it felt like no-one cared. In a lot of ways it was my fault that I lost everything this year. I lost Quinn first, then Puck…I quit cheerios and I lost any reputation I had to be in glee with people I made sure hated me. Then everything happened with Brittany and I lost my best friend, I lost the girl I loved and it was like I didn't even know who I was anymore. When my Dad found out that night it hit me that I lost my family too, we might not have been close but it was all I had left. I remember walking around literally trying to think of any reason not to give up, and for some reason…I thought of you."

"Why?" Rachel whispered, her voice strained as she tried to maintain her composure.

"It's stupid really, but back at sectionals last year when everyone though I gave Coach Sylvester the set list…you were the first one to believe me, and I always remembered it. I don't exactly give anyone much of a reason to trust me but you did. It gave me hope that maybe, maybe you saw something good in me when no-one else did."

The singer smiled, linking her hands with Santana's she smiled, "It doesn't sound stupid at all because I do see the good in you. I wish I could make you see it too."

The Latina smiled but stayed quiet, the truth was she hoped she would be able to see the good in herself one day and a part of her felt that with Rachel by her side maybe one day she would. She had been hiding behind her mask for so long and it was only over the past week she was able to be herself; she didn't have to be a bitch to push people away, she didn't have to act like she was okay and she didn't have to deny who she was to any of the people in the Berry house.

"Este verano, mi salvo la vida de mi amigo." Rachel repeated, a proud look on her face, "I definitely think Mr Schue is going to have to give me and 'A' on this report."

"Damn right!" Santana agreed with a grin. "I can't believe you remembered it."

The smaller girl beamed as she twisted to sit back on the couch, her legs still folded underneath her, "I have a good teacher."

Santana laughed as she stretched her arms above her head with a yawn, "Well if I can teach Britney enough to pass, I don't think you'll give me too much trouble."

Rachel chuckled in agreement, she was about to make a joke when she noticed the sad look that passed across the Latina's face. It was only brief but it was there, and the way Santana slumped down next to her on the couch made the singer frown, "Are you okay?"

The taller girl simply shrugged in response as she leant forward to pick up a blank piece of paper and began sketching.

"Is it Britney?"

"No." Santana said, shaking her head as she concentrated on her picture, "Well…yeah. I miss her, she was my best friend and I know everything that happened between us was seriously messy but…we don't even talk anymore, not like we used to."

Rachel frowned, she hated seeing her friend upset "Maybe you should call her?"

"Maybe, or maybe it's better for us to spend some time apart." The Latina said sadly, her eyes flicking up to meet Rachel's.

"Do you still love her?"

Santana hesitated for a second, a frown on her face as she thought about, "I think yeah, a part of me does and probably always will but…the fact is she chose Artie and even though I want to hate her for it, I can't blame her. I was never brave enough to admit my feelings for her to everyone and she deserves someone who can be with her properly, in public, and make her happy. She didn't want our relationship to be a dirty little secret and by the time I finally realised that, it was too late."

"She was with Artie."

The Latina exhaled heavily, "Yeah…you know sometimes I felt like Britney was pushing me to come out when I wasn't ready but I think maybe she was just pushing me to admit everything to myself and I was so terrified of it all I pushed her into his arms."

"And if she broke up with Artie now?"

"I don't know." Santana said slowly, her hand stilling its movement across the page as she lifted the pencil to chew on it thoughtfully, "I know I'm ready to start admitting that I'm gay…I told you, your parents, Kurt…so I'm not afraid anymore but I don't think I feel the same way about Britney. Seeing her happy with Artie hurt but in a way it forced me to try and get over her, I guess we missed our chance and we just weren't meant to be."

"That's very philosophical of you."

"I've had a lot of time to think about it." The Latina replied, sitting up straighter as she continued, "But enough about me, what about you and Finn?"

Rachel shrugged, her head rolling back to rest against the couch, "I don't know."

"Come on, I pour my heart out and that's the best you've got." Santana said playfully, a friendly smile on her face as she looked at her friend.

The singer closed her eyes, "It's complicated. I mean, I thought Finn was…was the one for me but after everything that's happened this year I don't think I feel the same. First of all, he only seems to want me when he can't have me, as soon as Jessie re-appeared he was all over me again and maybe I'm just slow but I'm starting to see that…he doesn't treat me that well."

"Damn right." Santana muttered.

"I want someone who is going to challenge me and make me feel alive and…special, like I'm the most important person in their life. I know that sounds stupid and-"

"It doesn't sound stupid at all." The Latina interrupted, "It sounds like what you deserve."

"Thank you." Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes to look at her friend, "It's just strange to think that after all this time, maybe that person isn't Finn. I think I liked the idea of him, more than I did him but I wanted to make it work. I guess I should have realised it wouldn't after he lied to me about-"

When Rachel stopped abruptly Santana could only look at her friend quizzically, "About…"

"Having sex with you." Rachel whispered.

"Oh." Santana exhaled, her shoulders sagging as she saw the hurt written across her friends face. The Latina grimaced as she continued, "I know it probably doesn't mean much to you but I am sorry."

"It's not your fault, you weren't the one lying to me about it every day."

"I didn't tell you either though, not until everyone was there." Santana said, her voice clouded with shame, "I shouldn't have done it, and I don't think I even did it to hurt you. I know it seemed that way but…"

Rachel lifted her head to catch the Latina's gaze, "Then why did you?"

Santana shrugged, the words catching in her throat she found herself unable to reply.

Incensed by the silence Rachel continued, her words gathering pace as she let out her frustrations, "Do you know how much it hurt to hear that Finn lost his virginity to you? It could have been anyone but no, it had to be the hottest girl in school. The girl everyone wants."

"It was just sex." Santana mumbled, her eyes locked downwards as she clasped her hands together awkwardly, "It didn't mean anything."

"Of course it does!" Rachel practically shouted, "How the hell was I supposed to compete with you?"

Santana snapped her head up in shock, her own anger rising "What the hell are you talking about? It's not a fucking competition and if it was I'm sure as hell not winning."

"Really, how do you figure that?" the singer scoffed.

"Because it didn't fucking mean anything!" Santana shouted, finally losing her composure "Do you want to know what he said to me afterwards? He said he didn't feel anything because it didn't mean anything. Do you know how it feels to fucking hear that? To hear that you mean nothing, that you're worthless? He hated every second he was with me because he wished it was you. I was just a warm body to him, which is pretty much what I am to everyone."

The smaller girl felt her stomach twist uncomfortably, "I didn't-"

"You said it yourself, I'm the 'hottest girl in school', everyone wants me, the thing you're forgetting is that they only want me for sex. I hear what people say about me and I read what's written about me on the bathroom walls." Santana raged, raking a hand through her hair as she felt herself beginning to shake with anger, "You want to know the craziest thing? You're so busy being jealous of what you think I have that you don't even noticed what you have."

"What do you mean?" Rachel whispered.

"Every guy who you hook up with wants to date you, they want to be with you regardless of whether you put out or not. They want you for more than sex but all you can focus on is whether they think some else is prettier than you which is bullshit because you're fucking beautiful." The Latina ranted, her voice echoing around the room she snapped her mouth shut as she realised what she had just said.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Rachel asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

Opting to stay quiet Santana nodded, she wasn't entirely sure she hadn't just made her friend insanely uncomfortable.

"I…thank you." Rachel whispered, her voice full of disbelief and a hint of pride, "I'm sorry Finn said those things to you."

"Me too." Santana shrugged, "I'm sorry everything happened the way it did. I guess I wanted to hurt Finn and I didn't exactly stop and think about you so much."

Rachel nodded, accepting the apology she added "You'll find someone too you know, someone who wants you…the whole of you."

"Maybe." Santana replied hopefully sharing a smile with her friend.

"I know it." Rachel said as she hopped up from the couch, "But for now, I think there's only one thing we can do."

The Latina eyed Rachel nervously as she gestured for her friend to pull herself up off the couch and follow. When they made it to the hallway and Rachel tossed her a jacket Santana could only look on bewildered as the smaller girl slid her own coat on and picked up her keys.

"There is an incredible restaurant in the next town over that does the best vegan and vegetarian food."

"It's three in the afternoon Ray." Santana chuckled as they made their way outside and towards the Prius sitting in the driveway.

Rachel checked her watch as she wandered around to the driver's side and with a wide grin she replied, "Which makes it perfect non-dairy, vegan-friendly, low fat ethically sourced ice-cream time! Come on, I swear they do the best chocolate chip – just like the real thing."

Santana laughed as she jumped into the passenger side without a second thought, she quipped "You had me at non-dairy."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – The reviews for the last chapters were seriously some of the best I've had, thanks guys! Hopefully this chapter is up to scratch **

Santana hovered and as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other she scanned the scene in front of her. She had made up her mind a few minutes ago but now she needed to be pro-active and luckily for her, and Rachel, that was one thing she was good at. It took some careful manoeuvring and perhaps a tiny bit of 'accidental' shoving and she may have eye-flirted with a few people but in no less than twenty seconds she and Rachel were at the front of what had been a long, messy queue.

"You need to teach me your ways." Rachel said in awe as she clung to the Latina's side and gazed up at the boards full of pictures of sweets and popcorn.

"It's a gift." Santana grinned as she got the attention of the guy behind the counter. "But on to serious business…and keep in mind that any future friendship rests on the next question, sweet or salt?"

The smaller girl hesitated, her eyes flicking from Santana to the bemused assistant as she contemplated her choices, "Salt."

"We have a winner!" Santana beamed happily, before turning to the counter and ordering drinks and a barrage of candy. Seeing Rachel's raised eyebrow the Latina shrugged, "What? You brought the tickets so I'm balancing it out and ordering the whole frigging concession stand…also I'm hungry."

"I am making no complaints." The diva said, as she grabbed the popcorn and shoved a handful in her mouth, mumbling out "You make excellent snack choices."

"Damn right."

Handing over the cash Santana carefully picked up the rest of the stash and after re-arranging a few things in her pockets the two girls made their way to their seats. Of course Rachel had planned their movie night so thanks to a precise timetable they had a few minutes to spare once they were sat down and Santana took advantage of the situation by shuffling about to make herself comfortable. Once she was happy she turned to face a grinning Rachel.

"Comfy?"

The Latina scowled playful before grabbing some of the popcorn from the tub Rachel had ended up holding on her lap, "Perfect, thanks for asking."

"I'm so glad you suggested this 'Ana, I don't think I could take another night of watching Daddy's collection of sci-fi."

Santana chuckled, her head resting against the back of the chair as she looked at her friend, "Yeah I figured you were kind of at your creature-feature limit when you tried to hide the DVD player in the kitchen cupboard."

"It would have work too if Dad hadn't decided to make his home-made brownies." Rachel said, sad her plan had been foiled.

"Well I can guarantee no creature-features tonight." Santana announced a big grin on her face as she added "But I hope your Dad saved us some brownies."

Rachel giggled, "You know he's waiting for us to get home so he get you to watch some giant-squid movie with him so I think it's safe to say he'll have kept brownies to bribe you with, not that you need it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well…it means…" Rachel leant over, as if to whisper a deep secret, "It means you're totally into the creature-features. You're a big dork."

Santana growled, and then with a swift movement stole the popcorn from her friend, "I am not. Take it back or no popcorn for you!"

Rachel laughed and made a lunge for the treat but was quickly evaded, "You can withhold salty goodness all you want but it doesn't make you any less of a dork."

"Maybe not but at least I'm a dork with snacks." Santana laughed as she evaded Rachel again, the diva reaching out across the Latina who was holding the popcorn as far away as she could. "Ah…I don't think so."

The two were so involved in their play fight that neither saw the other couple approaching, and it was only when Rachel half-shrieked that they paused long enough to look around themselves at the other customers. It took a few seconds for both the girls attention to fall onto the figures in front of them.

"Kurt!" Rachel squealed happily as she catapulted out of her seat to greet the boy with a hug, half trampling the Latina in the process.

"Don't mind me." Santana grumbled as she waited for the feeling to return to her foot.

Rachel didn't seem to notice as she pulled back from the hug and greeted Blaine in a similar way, the three stood in the aisle as they exchanged small talk about their summers so far. It was only when an annoyed huff came from one of the other customers that the group realised they were in the way.

Rachel rolled her eyes and sent a displeased look in the vague direction of the hush, before turning to the two boys again, "Do you want sit with us?"

"We'd love to." Blaine answered, as he gently pushed Kurt ahead of him.

As the two boys went to move past Rachel they suddenly seemed to remember Santana was there and with an awkward moment of hesitance they smiled and finally greeted her, both feeling bad that they had accidentally ignored her.

For his part Kurt gave the Latina a warm smile as he moved to sit next to Rachel, "How are things?"

Santana shrugged as she passed the tub of popcorn to Rachel then turned to stare at the blank screen, "Fine, I guess."

Kurt nodded, his gaze turning to Rachel he smiled and turned to Blaine.

Santana sighed as she picked aimlessly at the arm rest between her and Rachel, she didn't know what had happened, one minute she was happy and messing around with her friend and then it was like she was reverting back to her old ways. She knew Rachel could see it as well as she could, but it didn't make it any easier to snap out of. It was as though as soon as she saw Kurt and Blaine her walls came shooting back up.

As the lights dimmed and the first commercials began to play, the smaller girl leant over "Are you okay?"

Santana bit her lip as she turned to face her friend with a weak smile, "I…yeah, I'll be okay."

Rachel smiled in return and then in an act that surprised both of them she moved her hand to intertwine with Santana's, at first she had merely want to stopped the other girl fidgeting but her brain had other ideas and now their arms were linked together as they held hands on the shared arm-rest. Rachel partially expected the Latina to pull away but when she didn't she felt her smile widen.

As the adverts rolled Santana let herself relax, the darkness of the theatre calming her thoughts to a more rational level. She had panicked slightly when she had seen Kurt and Blaine because she realised it was like being dragged back to reality. When she was with Rachel she got to forget about putting on any kind of a front or having to suffer with the labels people put on her, she could be a dork if she wanted or sit around and sketch all day but back in the real world it was harder to tear down the walls. Seeing the boys only served to remind her that she and Rachel had created a cocoon that would soon be broken, after all summer wouldn't last forever and eventually Santana was going to have to face everyone again. Even though she had already spoken to Kurt, for some reason it didn't make it any easier.

Santana didn't pay much attention to the beginning of the movie, her mind was too busy processing her rampaging thoughts, it was only when Rachel leant over and playfully nudged her shoulder with her own that she snapped from her bubble, "What?"

The smaller girl tilted her head as she leant back against her seat to look closely at her friend, "I said, you're thinking too much."

Santana opened her mouth to deny it and make a snap insult about the level of acting in the movie but instead she let out a small chuckle at how well the diva knew her, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Rachel whispered as she offered over the popcorn, "But…just enjoy the movie, alright?"

"Alright." Santana mumbled, grabbing the tub and positioning it on her own lap as her eyes finally made it to the screen again.

The next hour passed by in a blur and Santana was glad to have Rachel by her side, every time her thoughts drifted towards something unpleasant the singer drew her right back simply by giving her hand a tight squeeze or in some cases, tossing a handful of sweets at her. When the end credits finally rolled Santana had pretty much forgotten her worries and was instead picking a variety of candy off of her and flicking it back at her friend.

By the time the lights came up the four friends were practically the last people left in the cinema and the Latina had to laugh as she saw the way the boys simultaneously rolled their eyes at the mess the two girls had left.

"She started it!" Santana pointed out as she stood up and shook away the last of the food clinging to her.

Kurt chuckled as he watched Rachel spring to her feet, sweets flying everywhere as she shook a tiny fist, "I'll finish it too."

"Actually, I think you did finish everything." Santana stated as she observed their surroundings, "So maybe we should get out of here before someone makes us clean this shit up."

"Agreed." The diva replied as she followed the Latina.

The four made their way out of the cinema, Kurt and Blaine trailing behind the two girls as they headed out towards the car park. It was Blaine who spoke next as they came to a halt, "You know the night is still young, how about we head over to the new diner that opened?"

Kurt nodded eagerly as did Rachel, and when three sets of eyes turned to her Santana found herself agreeing. She knew she needed to start trying to at least be herself around people and this seemed like the best place to start. The diner itself was only a short walk away and so leaving their cars where they were the group quickly made their way to the small café.

When the entered the group zoned in on one of the padded booths in the corner by a large window and with the girls on one side and the boys on the other, they ordered their drinks. It took the waitress a little while to return and they made small talk while they waited.

"Okay…" the waitress announced as she made her way back over with a tray, "One green tea with extra lemon and a slice of lime, one large extra foam non-fat latte with a shot of caramel and cinnamon on top, one extra hot soya decaffeinated cappuccino with an extra shot of sugar free- hazelnut…"

Rachel, Blaine and Kurt all took their drinks from the waitress who turned to Santana with a grateful smile, "And an apple juice."

The Latina laughed as she took her drink, looking down at the bottle and back up she added, "Ah you know now you mention it I actually wanted it served on seven hand selected ice-cubes in a tall glass…but not too tall…with a green straw, a red umbrella and dash of lemonade."

Rachel huffed as she shoved the Latina, "Alright we get it, we're fussy."

The waitress laughed, her eyes lingering on Santana "Still wouldn't be the worst I've been asked for, one guy the other day asked me if I could pour his milk in a clockwise motion…I'm not even sure what that means."

"I think it means he's an incredible douchebag." Santana stated with a sincere nod as she opened her juice.

"I could have used your honest approach the other day, for some reason my boss says I can't call customers douchebags. Crazy."

As Santana and the woman continued to talk Blaine caught Rachel's eye and with a smile he mouthed, "The waitress is totally flirting with her."

Rachel frowned as she felt a strange feeling welling up in the pit of her stomach, not wanting to dwell on it she forced herself to smile at the two boys who were now looking at her strangely.

"Okay…I should get back before my boss freaks out." the waitress concluded as she gave Santana one last appreciative look, "Enjoy your drinks guys. I'll drop the bill over in a bit."

"Thanks." they all chimed in unison as the waitress made her way back to the counter.

She had only been gone a few moments before Kurt grinned and blowing on his piping hot coffee he murmured, "Someone's got an admirer."

"What are you talking about? She was just being friendly."

Kurt laughed, "Seriously? That was not friendly, that was flirty."

Santana shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the three looked at her knowingly, she couldn't help but feel a little weird talking about a girl so openly. But biting the bullet she simply rolled her eyes, "Whatever. She's so not my type."

"Smoking hot isn't your type?" Blaine snuck in with a grin.

Santana laughed, with a shake of her head she was about to reply when something caught her eye outside, with a frown she leant forward to peer around Rachel and out of the large window next to her.

"You okay 'Ana?" the singer asked, ignoring Kurts raised eyebrow at the nickname. She could tell when the Latinas mood was about to shift and hoped the familiarity would calm her.

Instead Santana swallowed hard and shook her head, she didn't say anything for a moment and so the group turned to try and follow her line of sight.

"We...I…I have to go." Santana stammered as she stood quickly, her hands shaking as she pulled her jacket back on.

"Santana, what is going on?" Rachel asked, panic on her face as she too stood to leave.

The Latina stayed silent opting instead to toss some money down on the table before bolting towards the door, leaving the other three hastily grabbing their own things to follow her. Rachel was the quickest, her senses already heightened she had been prepared for a quick exit and pulling her jacket on as she sped towards the door she knew the boys were only a few steps behind her.

When she pulled open the door and stepped outside the first thing she heard was angry shouting, it took her ears a while to pick up where it was coming from but heading to left she saw Santana squaring off against someone. As her eyes adjusted to the street light she could make out the other figure, a tall tanned man with dark hair who was gesturing angrily as he ranted away in Spanish. Her brain clicked instantly.

"What is going on?" Kurt panted as he came to a stop by the singer with Blaine in tow.

Rachel blinked, her heart hammering in her chest as she began walking towards the arguing pair, "I'm pretty sure that is Santana's Dad."

"You mean…" Kurt trailed off, his eyes wide with fear as he followed the singer.

Taking a deep breath Rachel summoned all her courage as she shouted out, "Santana?"

Both the Lopez's heads snapped in her direction as they heard her voice, Santana's eyes falling to the floor while Mr Lopez's burnt with anger, his body swaying from side-to-side clearly under the influence of a lot of alcohol.

"I'm talking to her, this has nothing to do with you." The older man spat, his lips curved into a sneer as he looked his daughter up and down in disgust.

"Santana?" Rachel asked again, ignoring the anger pulsing in her direction.

When the younger Latina stayed quiet and merely shook her head all three knew that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible but none of them knew what to do. In the moment of hesitance Mr Lopez sneered and with a look of pure hatred on his face, he snapped back to Santana and began to yell once again, "Who the hell are these people?"

"They're my friends." Santana replied weakly, feeling as though that wasn't exactly the truth.

Mr Lopez shook his head with a cruel smile, "I doubt that. The only friend you've ever had was that blonde girl and even she stopped coming to see you eventually."

The younger Latina's shoulders slumped in defeat, she could feel all eyes on her and she knew her friends were expecting some kind of reaction. The Santana they knew would snap back but she simply couldn't find the energy to do much more than blank out how much her Dad's words hurt. The silence only seemed to anger her Dad more and when he took a step forwards she braced herself for a fresh onslaught.

Gesturing to the three teenagers he stared down at his daughter, "You think they want you around anymore than I do?"

When Santana only shrugged Rachel piped up, her voice strong and clear, "We do want her around."

Kurt and Blaine echoed the singer's sentiments but it was little use as the older man ploughed ahead, "Oh please, I'm sure you're having fun now but believe me the novelty will wear off soon enough and you'll be looking for the quickest escape route from her before she drags you down."

"How can you talk about your own daughter like that?" Rachel shouted her fists clenched at her sides.

"Because I know her." He replied calmly, his attention flicking back to Santana, "You've done nothing but disappoint me, you're a worthless fucking waste of space and that is exactly what your mother saw, it's no wonder she left! It's only a matter of time before your so-called friends see it too, I just hope for their sakes they follow her example and do something about it quicker than I did."

Santana couldn't hold back her tears and with a small sob she risked a glance at her friends who had been rendered speechless by the outburst.

"You'll ruin their lives, you know that don't you?" he asked, his voice carrying across the stunned hush that had descended, "I mean, you don't seriously think they want someone like you around?"

Santana tried to answer but her throat tightened as she looked up at her Dad.

"No-one wants you Santana, the best you can ever hope to be for someone is a warm body before they move on to someone worth the effort."

The words might have been slurred but they cut straight through the young girl, any traces of hope she had worked to build were crushed beneath his venomous words as he confirmed her worst fears to the world. She felt her body slump, her head hung low as she stared at the ground. It was only when a loud shriek rang out that she lifted her eyes to look at Rachel who had somehow evaded the worried boys and was striding over to where the father and daughter were stood.

"How dare you?" she shouted, her face contorted with rage as she came to a stop by Santana's side, "You vicious, manipulative pathetic excuse of a man. You think it's okay to stand there and rip Santana apart with your stupid lies?"

Mr Lopez scoffed, "You don't know her."

"No, you don't know her." The diva shouted, her confidence growing when Kurt and Blaine came to stand by her side "If you did you would know that Santana is an incredible person; she's funny, intelligent, loyal and if you hadn't spent so much of your life trying to tear her down then she wouldn't have any doubt of how awesome she is. The fact is you don't deserve her as your daughter and she's better off without you because now she is surrounded by people who can see her for who she is and who want her around."

Mr Lopez growled, glaring at the group he sneered, "Fine. You want her so much, she's all yours. Keep the little dyke, it's your mistake."

Santana flinched as the words echoed around them, she felt so ashamed and she hated the way her father could make her feel about herself.

"And as for you, don't bother ever coming back to my house, all the things you didn't sneak in and take have been thrown away and I changed the locks." He spat, finally moving from his space in front of Santana he wobbled away but not before throwing the other three a pitying look, "She's your problem now."

As they watched Mr Lopez make his way unsteadily out of view a tense silence descended with no-one quite sure what to say. It was Santana who spoke first, her tears coming to a halt as she hastily tried to rebuild her tough persona, "You shouldn't have followed me."

"I was worried." Rachel replied softly, "Why did you even want to speak to him?"

The Latina let out a bitter laugh, "I didn't. He saw me and I knew he was going to yell at me and make me feel like shit one way or another and as soon as I saw him coming over I…"

"You?"

"I left so it wouldn't happen in the middle of the diner, I didn't want you to fucking hear it!" Santana yelled, she hated how vulnerable and exposed she was and the way the three were staring at her only made it all worse, taking a step back she whispered, "I…can you please just leave me alone."

Rachel watched the Latina turn and begin to walk away, she only made it a few steps before the singer moved to intercept her. Gently grabbing her arm she swung the taller girl back around to face her, hoping her friend would hear the extra meaning behind her words Rachel said, "I'm not leaving you."

Santana took a deep breath, she tried to piece her armour back together and at least reassemble some of her guard but she was completely exhausted. Raking a hand through her hair she mumbled, "I don't understand how he can hate me so much, I know I'm not the ideal daughter and I know I'm not a nice person but-"

"Okay, you need to stop right there." Rachel interjected, as she reached out to clasp both of the Latina's hands, "I've said it before and I will say it again, you can't keep blaming yourself for everything that's happened. You are not a bad person."

Seeing the unconvinced look on Santana's face, Kurt piped up "It's true, all jokes aside you're always there when it counts."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Santana replied dully, "I'm bitch to everyone in that club and I've spent most of it trying to sabotage you guys."

Kurt rolled his eyes dramatically, "The whole first year when you were supposed to be sabotaging us for Coach Sylvester you could have just not turned up at competition and we would have lost, you could have given away our set lists…you could have sung incredibly out of tune and messed up all the routines. But you didn't, instead you helped at that ridiculous bake sale and then sold that ridiculous taffy to raise money."

"And you jumped in without a second thought to defend our honour against Karofsky." Blaine added with a smile, "He could have kicked all three of our asses but you didn't even flinch."

Letting out a gentle sigh Rachel kept hold of one of Santana's hands, threading their fingers together she moved slightly to incorporated Kurt and Blaine into a circle, "You stood up to Karofsky?"

When Santana only gave a weak smile in response Rachel felt her heart sink, she wished she could make the Latina see that she was more than the labels her Dad put on her and that the bad things that had happened to her, and were still happening, were not her fault. Rachel had long since worked out she wasn't going to be able to undo all the hurtful things Santana had spent her life listening to but she was starting to think they were making some progress. The Latina had seemed so much more relaxed and happy and just as she was starting to let people in when her Dad had to come back and tear it all apart.

Kurt nodded, and with a quiet chuckle he answered "I thought he was going to cry when you told him you had razor blades hidden in your hair."

"I…I wish it was as easy to stand up to my Dad." Santana muttered, her voice barely carrying over the still air.

Kurt shook his head sadly, "It's not the same thing, he's your family."

"Yeah, some family huh?"

Rachel bit her lip as she gripped the other girl's hand, "Well, look at it this way; now you have a new family and with us you don't have to worry about all that other stuff and you can just be yourself."

Santana contemplated telling Rachel that she wasn't entirely sure who she was anymore, but she somehow knew that the smaller girl was aware. Rachel had an incredible knack for knowing what she was thinking.

"We're all here for you Santana." Kurt added, with Blaine nodding behind him.

The Latina smiled, suddenly awkward as she realised her private life had been put in the spotlight once again, "I…thanks but I think that right now I just want to go hom-" Santana cut herself off with a downtrodden look as she sighed, "Back to Rachel's."

Kurt and Blaine both nodded and with a final smile in Rachel's direction they turned to leave, but Kurt hesitated, "I'll call you soon okay? Maybe we can all hang out? There's an art's fair next week that Blaine and I were going to, you should two come with."

Rachel smiled, not wanting to tie Santana down to anything without asking she simply replied "Yeah, we'll talk later okay?"

With that the two girl's were left together again, and it was only a moment before Santana began to slowly head back towards where they had parked earlier. Rachel smiled when she felt the Latina tug her along, not relinquishing her hand.

After a moments silence and weighing up what she wanted to say, Rachel asked "So…an arts fair huh? You think maybe, you want to go?"

"No."

"No?" Rachel queried, surprised at the determination behind the response, "No? That's it? No reason or excuse?"

The Latina shrugged, her eyes focused in the distance as they walked past the diner and back towards the cinema where the car was, "I don't need pity-friends, we all know there is no way either of those guys would ever want to be around me. The only reason they're even pretending is because they feel bad for me and they like you."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she pulled them to a stop, "No the only reason they are offering friendship is because you are letting them, because you're not pushing them away. I know for a fact that if you had given them a chance before then they would already be your friends."

"Maybe…"

"No, definitely. We were having a good time back there before your Dad showed up right?" Rachel argued, sensing she might be able to get her friend to see her side of things.

Santana tilted her head as she looked down at the smaller girl, she had to admit that even though she had felt weird at the beginning of the evening it had been a lot of fun to spend even a little time around the couple, "Yeah we were. I…It's hard though sometimes."

"I know." Rachel said with a soft smile, "But I meant everything I said back there, you're an awesome person once you relax; you're smart, talented, funny, and loyal. I'm proud to call you my friend."

Santana felt her eyes widen, her heart pumping faster in her chest she whispered, "No-one's ever said anything that nice to me before…" adding quietly, "No-one's ever really said anything nice about me."

Rachel didn't stop to think as she threw herself into the Latina's arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace she clung to the taller girl. They stayed that way for a moment before simultaneously breaking apart again.

"You're kind of incredible, you know that right?" Santana whispered, "I don't know how you do it but even after…him, you make me feel like everything's gonna be okay."

"Because it is." Rachel replied firmly as she tugged the Latina towards her car with a smile, "Now I think it's time we went home, tonight definitely needs some brownie goodness."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – This is just a little filler chapter to move the PezBerry along, I know a few people are wondering when they're going to start moving from friends to something more and it's coming soon I'm promise **

**It's also been pointed out that I made a continuity error with Santana's phone…opps! Sorry, I will go back and amend that at some point so it doesn't get smashed in one chapter and then used in another. Reviews are love, it means I can fix mistakes like this one! Thanks guys!**

**Anways, short chapter now and the next one will be up in a couple of days!**

Rachel groaned as she flopped down on the couch next to Santana, tossing her phone on the coffee table the normally upbeat singer wore a frustrated frown as she leant her head against a tan arm. The Latina looked down at her friend and putting down the book she had been reading she offered a smile, she had spent the morning going over some basic Hebrew Hiram had been teaching her but seeing the smaller girl she turned her attention away from her studying.

"What's up Ray?"

The singer let out another unhappy groan but this time rolled over so her head was lying on the Latina's lap and she could look up at her friend, "Finn called."

Santana shifted so she could rest one arm on the back of the couch, while her other hand toyed with the dark locks splayed across her legs, "Wow, again? He's persistent you've got to give him that."

"I think this totals seven calls and fifteen texts over the past two days alone." Rachel sighed, her phone buzzing again on the table she growled, "Make that sixteen."

"I never figured you as the type of girl to ignore something like this."

The smaller girl shrugged, her eyes meeting Santana she replied, "I know but…from what I gather from his messages, he wants to talk about 'us' and…"

The Latina frowned as her friend trailed off. Over the time they had spent together Santana had started to think that Rachel was moving on from Finn but the hesitancy in her voice made her think twice, trying to ignore the weird feeling that was unnerving her Santana asked "Do you think you and Finn could get back together?"

Rachel shook her head, "It's not that, in fact it's kind of the opposite. I've already said everything I need to say to him. I want to be friends sure, but I think it's time to face facts that any kind of relationship has run its course."

"Maybe you should tell him that." Santana said as Rachel's phone began to ring again. "You're going to have to face him sooner or later."

Rachel took a deep breath as she leant over to collect her phone; with a determined look on her face she hoisted herself up and off the couch as she answered, "Hello Finn…"

Watching the diva exit the room with the phone pressed tightly to her ear Santana went to pick her book back up but the sound of raised voices from upstairs made her pause. Leaning forward in her seat she strained her neck to listen intently, she could just about make out the sounds of Rachel murmuring next door and as she waited she heard what she recognised as Leroy. Normally Santana would have ignored it, but this time the voices sounded angry.

When the Latina heard her name she panicked and against her better judgement she got up from the couch and made her way into the hall and standing at the bottom of the stairs she could make out Hiram and Leroy's conversation.

"I'm only saying…I don't think it's a good idea. I know things have been better with Santana lately but it's by no means perfect."

Santana felt her heart thumping wildly as she edged up the first few steps to hear better a voice behind her made her jump.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked as she appeared behind the Latina, shoving her phone into the pocket of her jeans and looking up in confusion.

The Latina racked her brains to think of a lie but her plan was interrupted as Hiram's voice rang through the house again.

"You can't be serious? No. The best I can agree to is three days, tops."

Rachel looked from Santana and up to where the voices were coming from in confusion. "What is going on?"

The Latina snapped back to reality at the sound of the smaller girl's voice and with an awkward stumble she made her way back down the stairs and into the lounge. She be lying if she said she hadn't been expecting it, so to hear the men obviously talking about her wasn't that shocking what was shocking was the realisation she vocalised to Rachel, "I think I overstayed my welcome."

"What?" Rachel half-shouted, as she followed the Latina.

"Look, it's cool. Your Dads have been awesome but I can't freeload off you guys forever." Santana stated calmly, even as her own father's words echoed in her head – his voice clear as he reminded her that her presence was only a novelty.

Rachel shook her head as she made her way over to where Santana was scrounging around for her jacket in an attempt to make a calm get away. She knew her friend was quietly freaking out but she also knew her fathers', placing a hand on the Latina's shoulder she halted her search, "Will you just stop 'Ana. My Dad's love having you here, I love having you here, and you are not being thrown out. I know your still thinking about all that horrible stuff your Dad said the other night but please, believe me when I tell you that whatever we just overheard…there's an explanation which doesn't involve you going anywhere."

Santana let her hands fall to her sides, a sad look on her face as she mumbled "I can't be the reason your parents are shouting and arguing. I broke my family up and I won't do the same to yours."

"You won't." Rachel replied calmly. "I'm sure there's an explanation, Dad and Daddy rarely argue about anything so let's wait and see what they have to say."

"I'm like a freaking curse." Santana muttered as she sunk back down on the couch.

Rachel was about to argue back when the sounds of two pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs stopped her, and when her parents came into the lounge she had never been happier to see them particularly because they looked excited.

Rachel ploughed right in with her questions, not waiting around for any kind of small talk, "We overheard some of what you guys were saying, is everything okay?"

Leroy picked up on the worried tone and with a quick look at his husband he replied, "Everything is fine sweetie but…what exactly did you hear?"

"I heard you say that something wasn't a good idea and that things hadn't been perfect with me here." Santana mumbled.

"Okay….that sounds bad." Leroy smiled as he recalled the conversation, "But actually that would be about Hiram's idea for me and him to go away, we got a call from one of our friends in Boston and he wants us to go and visit for a week and that would mean leaving you two here. Alone. Unsupervised."

"Leroy is a little hesitant to go away for so long, we both know that things are going better for you Santana but Leroy feels a week away could be too long and I agree, so we came to the decision that only if you are happy with the idea, then we would fly out for a few days." Hiram explained.

Santana frowned, she had completely misread the situation, the Berry men were concerned about her to the point of worrying about her when they took a vacation. They were making plans and felt she was important enough to consider.

When neither girl responded Hiram let out a tiny chuckle, "Any thoughts?"

"When were you thinking of going?" Rachel asked, her practically side reappearing.

"Next Thursday, it' short notice that's why we wanted to get things sorted quickly." Leroy responded, "But if you would rather we stay here we would completely understand. I know things are still pretty tough at the moment and we don't want to go if either of you is unhappy with the situation."

"I'm fine with it." Rachel looked to the Latina, trying to gage her response.

The Latina was quiet for a moment, her brain trying to cope from catapulting from one extreme to the other she blurted out, "You don't want me to leave?"

Leroy frowned, then shaking his head adamantly he got up from his position perching on the arm rest of one of the big comfy chairs to move and sit by Santana, "Of course not, why would you ever think that?"

"I just…I heard some of what you said and I assumed the novelty had worn off and you wanted me gone…"

"We don't." Hiram answered sincerely.

"No way." Leroy echoed with a grin as he wrapped and arm around the young girl, "I mean who else is going to suffer through all those damn sci-fi movies with him over there or help me make waffles in the mornings? Plus Rachel has finally leant the difference between 'soy' and 'estoy'."

Santana smiled, her body relaxing as she realised how stupid it had been to assume the worst from the two Berry men.

"In fact, we were hoping that went we get back from our trip you girls would have some ideas of things you might want to do to officially turn the guest room into Santana's room." Leroy continued, his eyes flicking towards his husband as he held up his free hand in a playful surrender, "And I promise no crazy DIY disasters."

Rachel looked at Santana with a grin and found the other girl with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Hiram sighed as he sat down on one of the armchairs, "You say that now…"

The diva perked up at this, elbow Santana non-to subtlety in the ribs as she whispered, "Told you it wasn't anything bad."

"We just figured since Santana has been staying with us for a while now…that maybe we should redecorate her room so it's more to her taste." Leroy revealed with a happy bounce at the thought of another decorating spree. "I mean I love that room but seriously, a DIY weekend with planning and painting sounds like heaven…but Hiram doesn't want it to turn into another one of my marathon home renovation schemes."

"I don't understand." Santana said, looking between the two men as if they were crazy, "I mean…decorating? That's like, semi-permanent…or at least long-term."

Leroy nodded, "Well we're hoping that you'll chose to stay here for the long-term, if you can put up with us that is."

"So you better get choosing some colours and picking out fabric samples or whatever it is that Leroy will be bugging you to do." Hiram continued with a smile, "Just…no water features okay?"

"Water features?" Santana laughed, her worries pushed back by the absurdity of the idea.

Rachel let out a laugh next to her, "He's not kidding. Daddy wanted to install an indoor foundation in their bedroom last year."

"Needless to say we vetoed it very quickly." Hiram stated.

"You're no fun." Leroy pouted, before jumping up off the couch with a clap of his hands, "But that aside, you two are really going to be okay here if we go away for a few days?"

Rachel and Santana gave a collective nod, both smiling as the Berry men quickly made their way back towards the stairs, each talking excitedly about what they want to see in Boston.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – It's PezBerry time, a little fun chapter here to break up the angst. I toyed for a while over whether I was going to use a song or not…I wrote it with one then didn't like it and changed it and so on, in the end I think it works better without one but you be the judge. I can imagine a billion songs the two might sing together and so I guess this way everyone will have their own ideas and it doesn't break up the flow of the story so much.**

It was Thursday evening by the time Rachel and Santana got back from dropping Hiram and Leroy off at the airport; luckily they had stopped for a quick meal before the flight so by the time the two girls got home the only thing they had to worry about was how to spend their night. The diva had just been about to suggest they call Kurt and Blaine to see what they were up to when she noticed the excited smile Santana was sending her.

"So…I thought of something for us to do tonight but it's kind of a surprise."

Rachel sent her friend a curious glance as she followed her upstairs. Her mind running through a list of possible scenarios she came up blank.

"Find something hot to wear." the Latina grinned. "You've got half an hour."

Before Rachel had a chance to ask any questions Santana had slipped into her own room to get ready, so the singer had little choice but to do the same. When she reappeared downstairs thirty minutes later she found Santana waiting for her by the front door with an excited grin, dressed in one of her trade-mark tight dresses and her favourite leather jacket the Latina ran a hand through her dark hair which she had simply straightened and left loose.

"Ready?" Santana asked as she pulled open the front door and stepped aside to let her friend through.

Straightening her own short skirt the diva smiled as she grabbed her jacket from the hooks next to the door and slipped past the Latina, with a playful skip she waited for her friend to join her before unleashing her barrage of question, "Where are going? Why did we have to dress up? Is it just us, is anyone else coming?"

"Woah, woah, woah." Santana laughed, holding up her hands in defence, "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. So quit with the questions and get your cute little butt in the cab."

Trying to ignore the way her heart sped up at the compliment Rachel shrugged, "We're taking a cab?"

"Yeah, if you drove I'd have to tell you where we're going."

Rachel giggled and slid into the back seat of the cab bouncing up and down with excitement when Santana joined her and gave the driver a piece of paper with the address for wherever they were going. As the engine hummed to life and they pulled away from the Berry residence it was all the smaller girl could do to stay quiet and not ask any questions. She was so used to being in charge and planning everything that it was actually pretty awesome to be the one being surprised, even if it did make her feel a little edgy not knowing what was going to happen.

The journey flew by quickly as Rachel kept peered out of the window trying to work out where they were and where they were going, as they passed the sign welcoming them to Lima, Rachel frowned and turned to her companion, "We're leaving town?"

"Uh-huh…I'm totally kidnapping you." The Latina replied dryly with a roll of her eyes.

Rachel stuck out her tongue in response making the other girl chuckle.

"Okay ladies, we're here." The driver said as he slowed the cab to a stop, and read out the total fare.

Passing him a bunch of notes Santana grinned and quickly got out of the cab followed by Rachel, as the cab pulled away from the curb the smaller girl took her first look around. Her eyes fell quickly on a bar slightly off to their left, it was the only lively place around and Rachel cast a hesitant look at Santana, "You're taking me to a bar? We're too young, we'll never get in"

The Latina nodded, sensing the other girl's hesitance she turned to face her pulling something from her pocket, "Actually I took care of that."

"Fake ID's?" Rachel whispered, her eyes darting around nervously.

"Being from Lima Heights has its advantages." Santana said with a smile, "Look, we don't have to drink or anything, just relax and have fun. Come on, there's still one more surprise left and if we don't go in then you'll never find out what it is."

Rachel sighed, a smile playing across her features as she let out a playful sigh and allowed Santana to drag her towards the bar. Her heart was pounding in her chest when they approached the bouncers but the two hulking men barely looked at their forged ID's before ushering them inside and Rachel had to wonder if that might be down more to what they were wearing than anything else.

When they entered the club for the first time Rachel's eyes widened, the place was relatively small inside but it was packed. A bar sat on one side of the room while a DJ and stage filled the opposite side, a small dance floor in front and a mass of tables strewn in between.

As they made their way to the bar dodging various people, Rachel whispered in Santana's ear, "I can't believe we got in so easily."

The Latina laughed, "Seriously? We look at least 23 and if either of the bouncers had been able to actually look at either of our faces instead of cleavage they still wouldn't have cared."

Rachel had to agree with that and as they waited for their turn at the bar she found herself wondering what the next surprise was. When Santana handed her a drink she gave her friend a questioning look.

"It's only coke." Santana chuckled as she ushered the smaller girl away from the busy bar and over to a space where they could stay without being knocked around.

Rachel only lasted about thirty seconds before she erupted with, "So, what's the next surprise?"

Santana grinned and taking a casual sip of her drink to draw out the moment, she eventually gestured to the stage where the DJ had just stopped the music and was picking up a microphone. With a laugh she spun Rachel around so, along with the rest of the patrons, they were facing the DJ and waiting for his announcement.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to _The Pitch_ we're glad so many of you could all join us for our monthly karaoke contest!"

Santana had to laugh as Rachel squealed and swung around to face her with a beaming smile, "You brought me to a karaoke night?"

Santana nodded, her response drowned out by the DJ again.

"So, for those of you who are new here are the rules; you have the next fifteen minutes to get your request to me here at the booth, if we don't have the music you don't get to sing so pick carefully! Also, tonight the prize money stands at $500 and the winner will be decided by you guys, so clap loudly and show your appreciation for the guys and girls on stage tonight because you're the judges!"

Now it was Santana's turn to be surprised, "Woah, there's prize money?"

"You're asking me?" Rachel asked, already grabbing a pen and paper from a passing waitress.

The Latina rolled her eyes, "I meant, it didn't say anything when I looked online. Sweet, added bonus, because we are totally gonna win this thing."

Rachel nodded a huge smile on face as she tapped the pen against her chin, a thoughtful look on her face, "But what are we going to sing? I feel that most of my pre-arranged selections might be a bit obscure for-"

"Pre-arranged?" Santana queried.

"Well…I…" Rachel stammered, a blush rising across her cheeks. Thankful for the darker lighting in the bar the diva admitted, "Ever since I heard you first sing, I thought our voices would go well together so I may have thought of some songs that we would sound good on."

"What kind of thing did you come up with?" the Latina asked shyly, a little amazed that Rachel had considered duet possibilities for them.

Rachel bit her lip as she thought, "I think that the balance of my years of training and technique combined with your unique and emotional tone would suit a lot of the big Broadway classics…however based on the current establishment and the rules, I was thinking something along the lines of Adele or perhaps Rihanna?"

"Adele or Rihanna?" Santana echoed thoughtfully, her mind torn away from the Amy Winehouse and Stevie Nicks train of thoughts, "Yeah, I could be down with that."

"Fantastic!" the smaller girl beamed, "The question is which one and which song?"

Santana thought for a moment, her eyes roaming around the bar she weighed up their options, "Honestly…you pick, I trust you. But maybe something that's a little more…upbeat, I think the crowd would dig it and either way I'm sure we'll belt it out no problem._"_

Rachel gave a quick hop of excitement before scrawling the information down and heading off to the DJ booth, Santana had to laugh as she watched the small girl weave her way in between groups of people and make it to the front unscathed in her determination. It took her a moment to clear the goofy smile from her face as she watched the singer and she was about to question herself when a figure stopped next her.

"Hey."

Santana turned to find a guy stood next to her, if she had to guess she would have said he was in his early twenties and pretty cute in an overly-styled preppy kind of a way. She looked him up and down before offering a non-to-impressed smile, "Hey."

"So I saw you standing over here by yourself and I figured you are way too hot to be alone." He drawled, not noticing the eye-roll his come on line received, "How about I buy you a drink?"

"I've got one." Santana said, trying to be polite as she waved her drink casually, "And I'm not alone, I'm here with someone."

"A boyfriend?"

"A friend." Santana said firmly, casting a look back towards the stage in the hopes of seeing Rachel.

The guy seemed to take this as an encouragement, "I'm sure this friend wouldn't mind if you and I had a drink."

"Actually I would." Rachel intervened, popping up from seemingly nowhere to rescue the irritated Latina. She could sense the other girls discomfort and with a quick smile at the guy she added, "So you can leave now."

Santana almost laughed at the crushed look on the guys face but when it quickly turned back to his hopeful, flirty expression she rolled her eyes. "Come on, not even one drink?"

"Jesus, take a hint pendejo." The Latina growled, her short fuse reaching its limit as she spelt it out for him slowly "I do not want a drink with you. You are not my type. Go away."

The guy huffed arrogantly, "How am I not your type?"

Shaking her head Santana let out a sign of contempt as she eyed him up and down, enjoying the way he shrunk back slightly at her scrutiny, with a calm shrug she replied, "Mostly, it would be the missing chromosome." Seeing the blank look on his face she continued with an overly sweet smile, "I don't date guys, especially ones who look like their mom still buys their clothes."

Rachel let out a tiny chuckle, which she quickly tried to hide behind her drink as the guy turned bright red. She felt a little bad for him but he did have it coming and it was good to see Santana unleash a little bit of her inner bitch again. As he hurried away from the two girls Santana let out a slow breath, her eyes darting around nervously to see if anyone had heard her declaration. It seemed like most people hadn't noticed anything but her eyes stopped at a woman standing a few feet away who grinned and raised her glass in the her direction as she mouthed, _Nice one._

With renewed confidence Santana winked before turning back to Rachel who was still chuckling to herself, "And that's how I deal with sleazy weirdo's."

Rachel went to reply but the sound of music starting up drew her attention and she spun around to face the stage again, standing close the Latina she found herself pushed up against her friend as she stood slightly in front of her. The warmth from the other girl's body was comforting and when Santana casually leant an arm on one of her shoulders she smiled.

Her smile didn't last long though as acts began to take the stage in a bid to impressed the crowd and win the money. After a couple of hours including two horrendous versions of _I Will Always Love You_, one average attempt at _The Edge of Glory _and an almost decent _Irreplaceable_ the diva wasn't sure how much more she could take. The other participants had managed to get the crowd singing but to Rachel's ear it all sounded like a massacre of pop culture. She was almost glad when the following two acts were actually good, the final girl on stage actual drawing some sincere applause from Rachel as she concluded her version of _Use Somebody._

"Alright, we've had a lot of entries tonight but these next two ladies will be the last ones of the evening. Do we have a Rachel Berry and a Santana Lopez with us tonight?"

The sound of cheers and whooping rang out as the two girl's made their way through the parted crowed and Santana had to wonder if a lot of that came from the male section. When they eventually took the stage they waited for a second as the machine was set up. With one eye on the people now staring up at them Santana leant over to Rachel, "You ready?"

"As always." She replied confidently, "Let's show them how it's done."

The DJ nodded for them to pick up their microphones, "Alright ladies and gentlemen give it up for our final entry, Rachel and Santana."

The crowd cheered once more as the music began and with one last shared smile, the two girls raised their mics ready to enjoy the freedom of singing something they loved with no real pressure. So much of what they had each performed lately had been tied to Nationals that it felt good to enjoy the music for simply what it was.

Rachel began the song, her powerful voice instantly quieting the people watching and Santana felt a sense of pride as they all seemed in awe of the small girl standing before them. She could practically see some of the audience trying to work out how someone so small could have a voice so big and it brought a grin to her face, so much so she almost missed her cue. Swiftly mixing her voice in over Rachel's Santana let herself relax into the beat, she didn't need to look at the screen in front of her, the words to the song etched into her memory.

As the tempo built both girls grinned, the chorus booming through the bar as they sang together for the first time they voices blending together as they lost themselves in the music. Santana look a step forward, her eyes sparkling as she took in the way the people watching were now on their feet, clapping to the beat as they watched the two girls. Nothing felt better than being on-stage doing what she loved and with Rachel by her side she felt invincible.

Rachel closed her eyes as she belted out the final part, she couldn't believe how well her voice blended with Santana's, sure she had imagined it but nothing compared to the real thing. She had only really heard the two of them as part of a group but if she had known how good it would be then diva knew she would have spent more time pushing Mr Schue for duets with someone other than Finn.

As the song hit its final crescendo both the brunettes stepped away from the monitor, they hadn't need it for the words at all so far and instead they turned their attention to crowd in front of them who continued to clap along to the beat as many sung along.

When the song came to an end the applause was deafening and as the two girl's shared a celebratory hug the chants from the crowd became clearer.

_Winner! Winner! Winner!_

With a bewildered look Rachel nudged Santana who simply shrugged and hooked both the microphones back onto their respective stands. As they went to hop down from the stage the DJ stopped them.

"Ladies!" he shouted, struggling to be heard about the roar, "It looks like we might just have ourselves a winning team!"

Casting a look around the bar Santana saw the other contests looking between the stage and the bar before they shrugged and with a grudging acceptance they rose to their feet and applauded along with the crowd realising it was unlikely they could compete tonight.

Seeing this the DJ cheered, "I give you our winners for this month, Rachel and Santana!"

**A/N – Up next…PezBerry goodness ; )**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – Wow, can't believe we're on chapter twelve already! Thanks so much again for everyone following this story. Here's a little more PezBerry goodness for you all…**

The sun shone in brightly through the poorly drawn curtains and with a loud groan Santana rolled over in an attempt to shield her eyes and delay waking up for a few minutes longer. It wasn't like she had been drinking at all the night before but that didn't mean she got back at a reasonable hour, after they had won the contest it seemed like everyone in the bar wanted to talk to them or buy them a drink and then the whole bar had decided to continue on the karaoke with a marathon session of the Journey back catalogue which would have had Mr Schue smiling for the rest of his life.

With a final huff of annoyance Santana pulled herself up and out of bed, her scowl lifting when she spotted the wad of cash sitting on the top of her dresser. She still couldn't believe how much money they had won for one song but she wasn't about to argue with the fates. Instead the Latina pulled on a clean pair of sweats and a wife-beater before raking her hair back into a loose ponytail and setting off in search of Rachel. She knew the other girl normally kept a pretty ridged routine but Santana had a feeling that her early morning start might have been cancelled for the day. She figured they hadn't gotten back much before three that morning and so when she passed Rachel's slightly ajar door she wasn't surprised to see the diva still sound asleep.

Making her way downstairs and into the kitchen Santana put some coffee on, her eye wondering to the clock she chuckled as she realised it was a lot later than she thought. Then armed with two cups of coffee she trudged back upstairs and towards Rachel's room, with a light knock she entered and in a sing-song voice whispered, "Rachel…time to get up."

The diva made no sign of moving so Santana carefully set the drinks on the bedside table as she looked down at the sleeping girl, a smile gracing her face as she saw the way the smaller girl had buried herself in her covers.

"Ray…" the Latina said, slightly louder as she perched on the bed next to her friend.

Cracking one eye open Rachel let out a muffled groan as she looked up at the grinning girl.

"Now that's the warm greeting I was looking forward to!" Santana laughed as she watched the diva pull herself up until she was sitting against the headboard.

Rachel grimaced but eventually managed a smile, which was quickly overtaken by a yawn, "What time is it?"

"Actually, it's around 3pm."

"What?" Rachel shouted her eyes wide as she glanced to the clock on the other side of her room.

The Latina laughed as she passed Rachel one of the coffees, "Chill. It's the holidays we're allowed one lazy day; especially after how epic we were last night."

"True." Rachel said tentatively as she took a sip of her drink, "But I can't help but think we wasted the day."

Santana nodded, "In that case, pull your lazy ass out of bed because I know exactly how I want to spend my half of the winnings and it doesn't involve lying around in pyjamas."

Rachel let out a tiny groan as she sunk down in her bed, "I'm still waiting for the caffeine to kick in."

"That's no excuse." Santana joked as she stood quickly and made her way towards the door, "I need you showered, clean and ready to go in the next hour. I'll even make you a mid-afternoon snack…"

The offer of food was enough to perk the smaller girl up and with renewed energy she pulled back the covers and began rummaging around her room. With a towel in one hand and her coffee in the other she beamed at her friend, "I'll be ready in no time!"

"Awesome." Santana nodded and spinning round she exited the room, a huge grin on her face as she quipped, "Nice underwear by the way."

Hovering in the doorway Rachel took her eyes off Santana's retreating form and glanced down, a loud shriek erupting from her as she clasped her towel tightly in front of her. She didn't remember changing for bed last night and now she realised that she had apparently pulled off her going out clothes and settled for a white wife-beater and a pair of bright-red sesame street style boxers.

With the sound of Santana's playful laughter echoing through the house Rachel grinned as she retorted, "At least I'm wearing a bra."

Santana paused at the entrance to her room and with a quick glance down she froze, her wife beater clearly the only thing covering her top half and apparently she was not particularly warm. Crossing her arms for a little protection the Latina turned to the now smirking Rachel and with a calm shrug replied, "Have you been checking out my rack?"

Rachel didn't think she had ever gone so red before as her eyes darted nervously from her friend, to her friends crossed arms, to the floor and back again.

"I'm kidding Ray." Santana smiled sensing the singers discomfort, she joked "Although no-one would blame you, I'm incredibly hot."

The singer sighed dramatically as she recovered from her temporary loss of speech, she wasn't about to admit to the other girl that she had in fact been checking her out after all she wasn't entire sure she was ready to admit to herself that she had been checking her friend out, if she was being honest it wasn't the first time. Instead she rolled her eyes, "You're so modest."

"Yup." The Latina grinned with a playful nod, "Now hurry up and get ready or I'm going without you, which won't be half as fun because you're kind of a key-player in my plans."

With a salute Rachel headed for the bathroom, her last words coming just as the door fell shut, "I better get my snack!"

A little over an hour later Santana and Rachel were strolling casually through the mall, both clutching their second coffee of the day as they made their way from shop to shop. Being that little bit later in the day it was quieter than normal and both of the girls were glad of a little extra space and time to move around. They had mostly window shopped so far, Santana had allowed Rachel to drag her into the mall's only argyle friendly sweater shop but she had also managed to dissuade her from buying any of the horrific things in there.

Of course that had caused a little tension between them and Santana was trying desperately to dig herself out of the hole she found herself in, "I'm not saying you looked bad, I'm saying the sweaters looked bad. Seriously, if anyone could pull off an owl-sweater it would be you but it was a total no-go"

The singer simply huffed as she folded her arms across her body and focused on her drink.

"I just don't get why you hide under those clothes when you're smoking hot." The Latina finally said. Coming to a stop she reached out to catch the singer's elbow, "As your friend I feel it's my duty to steer you away from…that…side of fashion and towards the hotter end of the scale."

"You think I'm hot?" Rachel asked, her upset frown turning to a sceptical one.

Santana sighed, she hated that the other girl would even doubt it but she also knew that she was probably part of the reason why the smaller girl lacked the confidence she should have. She had spent a lot of time insulting her and making up cruel nicknames, and whilst she had been by no means the worst it still stung to think she had been so horrible to the girl who was now her closest friend, "Yes I do okay? You're a tiny bundle of awesome and you shouldn't be hiding away under all that librarian stuff. I know I spent a lot of time being a complete bitch to you and making you doubt yourself but I never actually thought any of that stuff was true. I was just being a bitch and I fucking hate myself for ever tearing you down. You have to believe me, I'm sorry."

Rachel blinked in shock, she hadn't expected that outburst. In fact she figured they had swept all the old stuff away and were solely focusing on their new friendship but she had to admit it was good to hear the apology. "I do believe you and…thank you."

"I know it's not easy to just apologise and all is forgiven but I promise I will do my best to make it up to you."

"You don't have to make it up to me." Rachel sighed with a smile, "We're friends okay? All the bad stuff between us is history and before you argue…" the diva frowned her stare stopping the Latina's words, "If I can forgive Quinn then I can forgive you, she was much worse and even though I feel a lot of her progress from last year has been lost since she gave Beth away, you have both proved yourselves to be very different people from the Cheerios you were before glee."

Santana looked thoughtful as she nodded, "You're crazy insightful you know that?"

"So I've been told." Rachel grinned as she linked one of her arms with Santana's and got them walking again, "Now, all heartfelt discussions dealt with, is there a specific reason for us to be here today when we could be at home, enjoying our so called lazy day?"

"Actually there is." Santana replied as she tossed her empty cup into a bin, her determination renewed, "The first thing is…I wanted to buy your Dads something."

Rachel looked at her friend in confusion, "For what?"

"Erm…maybe for letting me stay in your house?" Santana replied with a quick roll of her eyes, "Sort of a thanks-for-taking-in-the-messed-up-chick-and-not-making-her-feel-like-scum present, although maybe not a card. I don't think Hallmark have quite made one for this kind of occasion yet."

"Clearly missing a gap in the market then."

Santana laughed, "I'll be sure to call the marketing department when we get back, but for now…any ideas?"

"Well I'm pretty sure whatever you decide on my Dads will tell you that you shouldn't have." Rachel tried, quickly changing her tactics at the unimpressed look she received, "But since you are so keen, how about we head over to where all the little food shops are, I'm sure we'll find something there."

The Latina grinned and with renewed determination she hurriedly pulled Rachel along with her. They were a short distance from the food shops and it only took Santana a few minutes to find a shop she liked, her eyes lightening up as she spotted the sign.

"Perfect." She said, leading the way into the small bakery.

Rachel followed her friend inside, her eyes roaming over the vast array of muffins, cookies and cupcakes as Santana hunted down an employee to help her. Luckily they were the only ones in the store and a cheerful looking woman soon materialised behind the counter.

"Hey girls, how can I help you today?"

Santana tore her eyes away from the food, "I was hoping you do deliveries?"

The woman nodded and pulling out a pen and paper she proceeded to write down the girl's selections as they put together a gift basket. When Rachel's stomach let out a hungry growl Santana chuckled, pointing to one of the speciality cookies she concluded, "And we'll take one of those for now."

Rachel bounced up and down before gratefully taking the cookie from the woman, "Yay, thanks 'Ana. You're the best!"

"Damn right." The Latina agreed as she handed over the money, "Alright, one thank-you gift sorted and paid for ready to be delivered Thursday and one diva silenced with a cookie. I think my work here is done."

The woman laughed as she passed Santana her change, her grin widening as she watched the small girl give an enthusiastic thumbs up, "You two enjoy the rest of your day."

"We will." Santana replied as she shooed Rachel out of the shop and took the other half of the cookie she was offered. Checking her watch she was glad to see it was getting towards dinner time, "Now there is one final thing we need to do."

Rachel looked up and swallowing the last of her snack she offered her friend a questioning look.

"I would like to take you out to dinner, you and me in a non-breadsticks establishment, think of it as a celebratory meal." Santana answered.

"What are we celebrating?"

The Latina thought for a moment, "Well, apart from our karaoke victory how about…making it to the final year of high school, to getting to Nationals and I don't know, to actually being happy and able to go out just because we can."

"I'll eat to that." Rachel beamed. "Oh, there's a new restaurant that opened next to the theatre on Main Street maybe we could check it out?"

"Your wish is my command." The taller girl joked, a playful smirk emerging as she added "Now hustle your butt, I wants to get my eats on."

Grimacing at the classic Santana grammar the singer rolled her eyes, knowing the other girl was trying to wind her up, "Less talking, more eating out please."

"That's what she said." Santana deadpanned, enjoying the look of shocked she received as Rachel blushed and swotted her arm.

"You have a filthy mind."

Santana laughed as she began to drag Rachel along with her, "Yeah, yeah and you love it."


	13. Chapter 13

Santana shuffled awkwardly in her chair, her eyes flicking from the candles on the table to the flowers and across the room to the assortment of couples surrounding them. The light was about as low as it could go without it being dark and she could just make out the faint sounds of classical music drifting through the speakers in the far end of them room, although she half-expected a small orchestra to be situated somewhere in the back.

As the waiter arrived to drop of their drinks Santana snuck a look at Rachel and seeing the diva looking back with a similar look of discomfort the Latina tried to hide her smile. She managed to hold off until the waiter had left before her smile became a giggle and looking down she couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled up inside as she watched Rachel simultaneously crack-up. She knew the other customers were probably watching them and cursing them for breaking the mood or whatever but it still took her a few minutes to get her composure back.

"Oh my god Ray." Santana giggled as she wiped away the tears that had started to form, "Where did you hear about this place again?"

The diva looked sheepish, "I may have overheard Mike and Tina talking about?"

Santana let out a bark of laughter as she reached for her drink, "And that didn't clue you in?"

"I might not exactly have thought that part through." the diva replied with a shake of her head, a smile playing across her features as she blushed, "Sorry I turned the celebration dinner into a date."

The Latina shrugged, "That's okay, maybe we'll get a couples discount of something. There has to be a reason so many love-sick puppies are making googly-eyes at each other."

Rachel was about to argue when she caught sight of the couple behind Santana doing exactly that, with a pout the diva mumbled, "I admit to being a hopeless romantic but some of these people are already putting me off my food and we've only just ordered."

"Look on the bright side maybe we'll get to see an extravagant break-up, and then it'll be dinner and a show."

Rachel laughed, "And I thought I was the drama queen."

As they waited for their food the two girl's placed bets on which horribly sappy couple would create the best over the top break-up scenario, they were so involved in their game that they almost missed the waiter arriving with their food and earned a disapproving scowl as the man obviously overheard their joke.

Once the food was on the table and the waiter had made a quick exit Santana tore herself away from the game and looked down at her plate with a hesitant frown, picking up her fork she gave the dubious looking mess a prod. She wasn't too sure what she expected to happen but a big part of her might have been checking that whatever it was, was not alive in any way.

"I don't mean to be rude because, after all I have heard fine things about this restaurant and you are of course treating me to an evening out but-"

"This shit is not food." Santana concluded, forgoing any kind of politeness as she watched Rachel poking her own food with a similar scepticism.

Rachel nodded, her eyes widening as she looked down, "I don't even know what this is but it is not what I ordered."

"Animal, vegetable or mineral…there is no way I'm eating this and neither are you." Santana decided as she dropped her fork with a loud clang and leant back on her chair, her eyes roaming the restaurant until she saw their waiter and beckoned him over.

Leaning forward Rachel whispered, "What are you doing?"

With a raised eyebrow the Latina bore her trademark HBIC expression as the poor unwitting man arrived at the table, "Is there something else I can get for you ladies?"

Santana grimaced as she gestured to the plates of food on the table, "You could tell us what this is supposed to be."

The waiter frowned as he observed the meals, pointing to the dish by Rachel he began, "Well this is our chef's choice of grilled garlic tofu served on a bed of Mediterranean vegetables and accompanied with sweet potato mash while you opted for the spinach and chickpea curry served with basmati rice."

"Okay, and do either of these piles of crap look like what you just described?" Santana growled, not giving the waiter a chance to respond as she ploughed on with thinly veiled distain, "No, because your curry, whilst I assume is normally microwaved to perfection, is cold and I don't know what this is floating in it but it is not food and that." The Latina pointed across the table, "Is not tofu, it's lamb which I'm assuming you realise is not vegan like we ordered."

Rachel bit her lip as she watched Santana take charge, the waiter blushed and began stumbling over an apology but the diva knew he didn't stand much of a chance.

Holding up a hand to silence the attempted apology Santana shook her head, "So we'll be leaving now."

"Of-Of course." He finally managed to stumble as Santana glared, "I'm very sorry and your drinks are complimentary."

Rachel grinned, she felt a little bad for the poor guy but one look down at her food quickly swayed her back to the Latina's team. She honestly didn't know how anyone could have served what was currently sitting on their table and she wondered if the other customers had simply been too polite to say anything.

Grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair she pulled it on as Santana did the same, she felt a few pairs of eyes watching them and as she looked up she was met with an envious stare of a middle-aged couple next to them. Risking a look down the diva grimaced, and offered them a sympathetic shrug suddenly extremely happy that Santana was not one to back down from confrontation.

Weaving their way through the tables and towards the door Rachel felt a sudden rush of affection and courage, reaching out she took Santana's hand in her own. Her confidence faltering slightly as the Latina looked down in confusion. She was about to retract her hand when she saw Santana smile and thread their fingers together.

As they pushed through the door and out into the cool night air Santana waited for the singer to let go of her hand, but she didn't. Instead they continued down the sidewalk, their shoulders brushing together as they laughed at how awful the restaurant was.

Rachel groaned as they headed back up the street, "I can't believe how bad it was, I'm so sorry I both created and ruined a date."

"Pfft, I blame the chef." Santana scoffed, as her stomach let out an angry growl of its own, "But I'll put that blame on hold because I'm still starving! I needs some food and I needs it now."

The smaller girl laughed at the puppy dog eyes she was receiving, "Okay, okay…I have an idea. There's a little deli-style place up on the corner, how about we grab something and head over to that little park?"

"Sounds like heaven."

And so, a little while the later the two girls found themselves basked in streetlight as they sat on one of the park benches just off the footpath overlooking the lake. It was still early enough in the evening for a few people to be moving through the park, mostly dog-walkers and joggers, but it was a calm night with the only real sounds coming from the two brunettes as they made short work of their food.

"Oh my god." Santana moaned as she got up and tossed the remaining wrappers into the bin next to the bench, "Best. Sandwich. Ever. I can't believe I didn't know that place existed before today."

Rachel grinned as she leant back on the wooden bench, "I know, right? Almost makes up for our other culinary disaster."

"Look at it this way." Santana reasoned, as she sat down next to the smaller girl, "You have, like a fifty-fifty percentage success rate."

Rachel rolled her eyes with a playful sigh, "I'm going to have to work on that."

Santana laughed as her eyes were drawn away from the water in front of them and to the girl next to her. She felt her breath catch slightly as the light seemed to bounce back of the singer, her smiling face so sincere and…beautiful. The Latina was suddenly very aware of their close proximity but couldn't bring herself to move away, worried that if she did the unfamiliar sense of happiness and calm would be lost along with the closeness.

"You okay?" Rachel asked, tilting her head as she watched the emotions play out.

Santana nodded, she wanted to tell Rachel how beautiful she looked but she didn't know if that would just make both of them uncomfortable but then again, there were friends and that was something friends did right? "I was…you look really pretty tonight."

Rachel blushed, "I…thanks."

With a speeding heart the Latina smiled, happy she had been honest. She loved the way Rachel's face seemed to light up with the compliment and made a mental note to make that happen a lot more in the future.

"You know I was just thinking that this is more like the type of date I like." The diva said quietly as she fiddled with her hands nervously.

"So, this is a date too huh?" Santana ventured, a smile tugging at her lips as Rachel nodded, a faint blush sneaking across her cheeks.

The smaller girl shuffled in her seat, edging closer to the Latina she swallowed her nerves and hoping she wasn't about to scare her friend away she said, "I know it's not supposed to be but yeah, it's also kind of the best date I've been on."

"Me too." Santana admitted, her gaze focused solely on the singer as their bodies seemed to be drawn together.

Neither girl was sure who made the first move; it all seemed to happen so naturally that when their lips finally met it seemed like this was how the whole evening was supposed to play out. The kiss was slow and tentative at first, each expecting the other to pull away, but as Rachel reached out to cup the Latina's cheek she felt her heart soar as the other girl wrapped an arm around her waist drawing them closer together.

When they eventually broke apart, their foreheads resting against one another it was Santana who spoke first her voice quiet and husky as she murmured, "If…if this, if it's just one time thing it's okay. I get it, but can you tell me now because if you don't mean it-"

Rachel pulled back slightly to look at the Latina, her chest aching as she saw the vulnerability hidden behind the girl's eyes, with a smile she cut off the words with her own whisper, "I mean it."

"You're sure?" Santana asked again, her teeth gnawing nervously at her bottom lip.

"I've never been more sure of anything." Rachel whispered as she leant in to capture the other girl's lips once more.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N – So this turned into a pretty epically long chapter, hopefully I did Quinn's character justice – I was pretty worried about how to write her. Sorry for any mistakes here, I've had a quick proof-read but it's getting late and I have to be up super early tomorrow but I really want to get this uploaded tonight as my updates have been slower than I would have likely lately : (**

**A massive thanks again for all the reviews for the last chapter, I think it was probably the most reviews I've had for one chapter, you guys are awesome! **

The next morning when Santana woke up the first thing she was aware of was the delicate weight of Rachel as she lay snuggled on top of her, the second was the huge smile on her face and the third more pressing thing she was aware of was the insane urge to pee. Not wanting to ruin the other girls sleep Santana debated her options before carefully rolling Rachel off of her and sliding sideways out of the warm bed. It wasn't necessarily the most graceful move she had ever pulled but it worked and with a silent cheer she hurried out of the room and to the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

After she washed her hands and quickly hunted down her toothbrush Santana still found herself smiling, the memory of the night before impossible to put to one side. After they had managed to tear themselves away from each other, and the uncomfortable park bench, they had taken what could only be described as a romantic stroll around the park. Santana had never thought of herself as someone who would enjoy doing something that seemed so cheesy, but with Rachel it was perfect. They simply held hands and talked about anything and everything; they avoided anything particularly heavy and just enjoyed the peaceful night. When they had made it back to Rachel's car they drove back to the Berry residence in a comfortable silence. Santana had to admit she thought it might be a little weird for them to be going back to the house as more than friend's but it wasn't even an issue as they both gravitated towards the smaller girl's room and snuggled together as they watched a movie, sharing kisses and jokes.

Santana didn't remember falling asleep but she loved waking up with the singer next to her and it was this thought that snapped her back to reality as she headed out of the bathroom and back to the sleeping girl. As she entered the bedroom she was surprised to see Rachel awake, her eyes darting nervously to the door as the former cheerleader entered.

"Morning." Santana said, her smile fading slightly as she saw the singer looking nervous.

Rachel grinned sheepishly, her eyes downcast as she revealed, "I thought you might have left."

"Never." The Latina replied, as she crossed the room and slid back into the bed, scooping Rachel up in her arms as she did, "Or well…temporarily, but you can blame my bladder for that."

The diva chuckled then paused, her eyes going wide, "I'll be right back."

Santana let out a laugh as the smaller girl jumped out of bed and scurried out of the room to use the bathroom. Leaning back against the headboard she yawned and waited for her girlfriend to return, another smile pulling at her lips as she heard the word echo in her head. Girlfriend, she had a girlfriend or at least she would once she had officially asked Rachel. Santana had a feeling that the diva was the kind of girl who would do things like this properly.

"I got you some water." Rachel said as she re-entered the room and offered out one of the glasses she was holding.

"Thanks." Santana replied as she took the water and made short work of it before placing the now empty glass on the bedside table and gently pulling Rachel towards her.

The singer grinned as she placed her own drink down and allowed the other girl to pull her on the bed so she was sitting in her lap. She loved how content and relaxed Santana was and it only made her more determined to keep the smile on the Latina's face. Reaching out slowly she tucked Santana's dark hair behind her ear, her hand then trailing down the cup her cheek as she placed a chaste kiss against her lips.

Santana sighed peacefully, "I can't believe how…right this feels, you know?"

Rachel nodded, her head tilted to the side as she admired the other girl affectionately. She knew there were a lot of things they still need to discussed but right now she was more than happy to spend at least a few more hours living a little bubble of happiness, after all it wasn't often either of them could truly relax and enjoy this feeling. The singer was about to suggested they actually get out of bed and do something productive when the sound of a phone echoed through the room.

With a raised eyebrow Santana leant over and snatched her phone off the bedside table where it had vibrated, seeing one new text message she let out a sigh of relief when she saw the number and giving Rachel a reassuring squeeze she mumbled, "It's Quinn."

Rachel smiled, she had to admit she and Quinn had somehow managed to move past their issues with one another, especially after prom night, and she knew that Santana missed her friend so with an encouraging wave she waited to hear what the message said.

"Huh, she wants to meet for coffee." Santana read out, a frown on her face as she looked up at her girlfriend.

"Is that so strange?"

The Latina shrugged, "I guess not. I mean, we had an honest to god conversation during Nationals and that hasn't happened for a while. I just didn't think she'd actually want to hang out again."

"You're nervous." Rachel stated, as she wrapped one arm around the other girl's shoulders, "Why?"

Santana sighed heavily, "Because of…everything. I think, I think I want to tell her."

"About us?" the singer queried, her heart pounding in her chest at the possibilities.

Santana bit her lip as she met the singer's eyes, "About all of it. I feel like I owe her an explanation, I mean she was my best friend for so long and she told me everything and I…I shut her out. I pushed her away without any explanation and now that I'm ready to deal with it all I want her to hear it first y'know?"

"That makes sense." The smaller girl reasoned a supportive smile on her face.

"It's gonna be a mess." Santana grimaced, "How the hell am I going to tell her everything?"

"You'll be fine." Rachel said reassuringly as she placed a gentle kiss on the Latina's forehead.

Santana smiled, her confidence building slightly at the other girl's support she typed out a quick message to Quinn telling her to head to the Lima Bean and that there was something she needed to talk to her about. She re-read it once to make sure it didn't sound too ominous before clicking send and waiting for her nerves to start to fray, "Are you okay with me telling her about us Ray? I get it if you aren't, I can censor that part if you want?"

Rachel thought for a moment before shaking her head, "I am more than okay with it but…I would kind of like to tell my Dad's before everyone in town knows."

Santana nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as she realised they were going to have to tell Leroy and Hiram at some point. She couldn't help but wonder if that meant she wouldn't be able to live with the Berry's anymore, would they still want her in the house if she was dating their daughter?

"It'll be fine, trust me." Rachel whispered sensing the girl's worries, "But let's deal with my Dads later, you need to get ready to meet Quinn now."

Santana agreed, she figured she was better off facing one issue at a time and right now she had about forty-five minutes to get ready to meet her former best friend and she knew a lot of that time was going to be spent gathering her courage and thinking of how the hell she was supposed to approach all of this. When Rachel slid off her lap and gestured for her to get up the Latina reluctantly obeyed, her feet dragging as she headed to the door. This was going to be a long day.

Santana had been standing outside the Lima Bean for approximately ten minutes as she waited for her nerves to settle and her brain to suddenly come up with an articulate and well-thought out speech to explain everything to Quinn. Rachel had dropped her off with some final words of encouragement and a particularly motivating kiss but still the Latina found her feet glued to the concrete beneath her. She contemplated the possibility of chickening out and bullshitting together something else to tell Quinn but she knew deep down that however awkward and painful this was about to be, it was going to happen.

With that thought in mind Santana finally managed to get her feet to move and at a slow pace she pushed through the doors of the coffee house. It didn't take her long to spot Quinn, the blonde had conveniently chosen a table tucked away in the corner from prying ears and Santana gave her a small wave before heading to the counter to grab herself a coffee.

Armed with a decaffeinated latte the Latina took one last calming breath and headed off to meet the blonde. As she approached the table Quinn stood and in a somewhat awkward action the two embraced, before sinking down into their respective seats.

"So, you're text sounded kind of serious." the blonde began, "Is everything okay?"

Santana opened her mouth to speak then quickly shut it again. She had on reflex been about to make a joke or downplay the situation and had to stop herself, "It's…complicated. There are some things that I need to tell you and it's not going to be easy to say, or hear, but I need you know this alright?"

Quinn nodded, her hands playing nervously with the handle of her cup.

Santana paused, her mind trying to pick a point to start at but eventually she blurted out, "You were my best friend."

Again Quinn nodded, her expression a mixture of confusion and shock, but she stayed quiet and Santana was grateful.

"You were my best friend and…I've been lying to you. Well, not lying technically but I haven't been honest with you about some things in my life and I guess I haven't been honest with anyone, even myself, but some things have happened this summer and I'm trying to fix that."

A few moments ticked past and Quinn knew Santana was having trouble finding the words she needed, she also knew that both she and Santana were not so great at talking about serious issues so taking a risk she said, "I don't know if this makes it any easier for you but if you're trying to tell me you're gay then I already know, I've known for a while, and it doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me. You're still the same Santana to me; I still love you just the same."

Santana felt her eyes widen, she was well aware that for all her gay panic her so-called secret was pretty well known between the glee club members but hearing Quinn say the words caught her off-guard, "You knew? How long?"

"Probably before you did." Quinn said with a smile as she reached out and placed a comforting hand on top of the Latina's, "But I figured you wouldn't appreciate me telling you."

The Latina chuckled; rolling her eyes she offered her friend a smile before biting her lip nervously.

"That's not everything though, is it?" Quinn asked, her eyes sad as if she knew she was about to hear something bad.

Santana shook her head as she blinked back the tears which were already forming, "No, that's actually the easy part."

Quinn tightened her grip on her friend's hand and offering an encouraging nod she prepared herself for what she was about to hear, she didn't know what to expect but she knew Santana well enough to know that whenever the Latina was being serious like she was now, then it was going to be bad.

"Do you remember when we were younger and we went to the zoo for your birthday? It rained all day and we got soaked but we refused to let it ruin our fun. We literally spent hours running around trying to see all the animals, which was impossible because most to them were smart enough to try and hide from the rain unlike us. By the time we got back to yours we were freezing and your mom thought we were insane, as soon as we got in she told us to go change."

"And she made us hot chocolate." Quinn said with a nostalgic smile, a smile which faded as another memory clouded her mind.

Santana pursed her lips, she could see the blonde remembering the day and she was glad, it made it a little easier to continue, "I had so much fun that day with you, just being goofy and acting like a little kid that when we got back to yours I forgot. I forgot that when I pulled off my shirt and you were there, that you'd see the bruises."

Quinn face paled as she gazed at her friend, she could feel a lump building in her throat as the Latina continued her story, her voice low and heavy with the burden of carrying the secret for so long.

"A few nights before my Dad was drunk and he lost his temper, he said I was playing my music to loudly and he couldn't hear the game. He beat the crap out of me." Santana whispered, her eyes sinking to the table as she mumbled, "It wasn't the first time, but he'd learnt how to hide it by then, we both had."

"You told me you got into a fight at school." Quinn muttered, tears beginning to fall as she tried to process what she was hearing.

The Latina nodded, "I was good at lying; I told people I got into fights, that I had hurt myself cheerleading, that I had been drinking and fallen over but you…you were the only one who questioned it. I don't think you ever knew what was happening but I was terrified that you would work it out, you actually cared enough to ask me who I was fighting with or what routine I was trying to pull and I knew when I couldn't answer your questions then I was risking you finding out the truth."

"You could have told me San, I…I could have helped." The blonde replied, tears falling freely now.

"No, you couldn't." Santana sighed sadly, "I didn't want your help, I thought that…that I deserved everything that was happening, that I was a bad person and it was just my punishment for not being good enough for my Dad, or for my mom."

Quinn frowned, she didn't know anything much about Santana's mother apart from that the woman had apparently walked out on her family and it was not a subject that her friend was ever willing to talk about. The thought that Santana blamed herself for her mother abandoning her made the blonde's heart ache.

"I've spent my whole life thinking there was something wrong with me, not just because I'm gay but because I'm me and I blamed myself for was happening." Santana said her voice so quiet it barely carried between them, "I didn't want anyone to find out because I thought if other people got involved they might…they would just confirm what I already knew."

"I would never have done that." Quinn cried, her hands tightly gripping her friends as she trembled.

The Latina looked down, "But you would have told someone else, your mom or the police, and then my Dad's life would be ruined and that would be my fault. It would have just proved him right, that I was the reason his life turned to shit."

"It would not have been your fault, it would have been his." The blonde stressed, her brain struggling to process the other girl's thoughts. She didn't understand how Santana could ever have blamed herself.

"I know that now." Santana said, a small smile tugging at her features, "It took my Dad kicking me out of the house to get me to realise it."

"He kicked you out?" Quinn barked, happy her friend was away from her monster of a father but terrified about where she had been living.

Santana took a sip of her drink before continuing, "He figured out I'm gay and…he was not exactly happy about it. It was just another way for him to justify what he had been doing I guess, but it was also the final straw. When he threw me out into the street I realised I had nothing left; no family, no friends…I was miserable pretending to be someone I wasn't and I hit rock bottom."

Quinn wanted to argued, she wanted to tell Santana that she had her but she knew that wouldn't have been a complete truth. The had been less than friends lately, and the closest they had come to rebuilding their friendship had been a trip to the hairdressers in New York. It hurt Quinn to think that Santana hadn't been able to come to her at her lowest moment, "Where did you go?"

Santana couldn't help the grin that broke out at the thought of Rachel and she had to laugh at the shocked expression on Quinn's face at her sudden change. "I went to Rachel's."

Quinn blinked, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea of the Latina going to Rachel Berry for help and she was even more surprised by the way Santana's mood shifted so dramatically, it didn't take a genius to work out that Rachel had turned out to be the friend Santana needed but the blonde still had to satisfy the niggling curiosity, "Why? I mean…I didn't know you two were friends."

"We weren't." Santana replied, "But she's kind of proved herself to be pretty awesome at giving people a second chance and at…at seeing the good in them."

Quinn nodded she had at agree that the tiny girl did have a reputation for always seeing the good in people and offering a second chance even when it seemed the least likely option. She had after all been given her own chances at friendship with the girl after years of being horrible to her, and even after the whole Finn debacle she still felt that Rachel would help her if she ever needed it.

"I've been staying with Rachel and her Dads for most of the summer." Santana continued, her eyes meeting Quinn she smiled, "I got my second chance and now that I'm away from my Dad I guess I'm seeing things a little clearer. But I still felt I owed you an explanation."

"You didn't owe me anything San, I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me but please don't feel that you owe me anything."

Santana smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear she replied, "I do owe you. There was a time when you told me everything, about the horrible girls at your old school and how you hated being _Lucy Caboosey._ You trusted me and in the end, I pushed you away and I ruined our friendship."

Quinn sighed, fiddling with her now empty cup she couldn't help but wonder how things would have turned out if she had spotted the signs back when she and Santana had been inseparable, "I'm not going to lie and say that these past couple of years, being frenemies or whatever, haven't hurt because they have but…I'm just as much to blame. I let you push me away, I knew something was wrong but I was so wrapped up in my own petty issues with Cheerios and Finn that I let you go. We drifted apart so fast that by the time everything happened with Beth, it was like we barely even knew each other anymore."

Santana ducked her head as she whispered, "I hated myself every second that you were pregnant with Beth, all I wanted to do was be there for you but I couldn't do it."

"I hate that I couldn't be there for you when your Dad was…" Quinn stopped, her throat tightening as she barely muttered the final words, "Abusing you."

"It's not like you knew what was happening Quinn." the brunette replied quickly, she hadn't told her friend any of this in an attempt to make her feel bad and she desperately wanted the blonde to understand that there was no way she should feel guilty. "There is nothing you could have done. I'm stubborn as hell and I made my choice, it was the wrong one but it was the one I made and the one I've had to live with but it's over now. I'm out of that house, I'm away from him and I'm actually happy."

Quinn smiled, relaxing slightly she asked, "You promise?"

Santana nodded, a shy smile on her face as she said "There is one more thing though…it's a good thing, I meant it is for me and I hope you think it's good too because-"

"Oh my god San, say it already!" Quinn joked.

"Rachel and I are together." Santana blurted out, a nervous smile on her face as she waited for her friend's reaction. It was pretty fun to watch Quinn's face morph from shocked to dumbstruck to thoughtful to happy.

Quinn had to admit she would never have put Rachel and Santana together in a million years but knowing they were together actually seemed to make a lot of sense. Springing out of her seat the blonde edged around the table and wrapped her arms tightly around the still sitting girl, her smile growing when she felt Santana return the hug. They stayed that way for a few minutes, silent tears pouring down each of their faces as they allowed themselves to find each other again.

"I'm really happy for you." Quinn whispered as she pulled away and shuffled back to her seat.

"Thanks." Santana replied with a watery smile as she wiped away the last of her tears, "I mean it's still new but she makes me happy, I can't explain it."

"You don't have to explain it, sometimes it's just meant to be." Quinn said sincerely, enjoying seeing this new side to her friend, "But what did her Dads say? I mean you're living there right?"

Santana let out a hum of agreement as she idly fiddled with a napkin, "We haven't told them yet, like I said it's all pretty new, but Rachel seems to think they'll be fine with it…"

"You're not so sure though."

Santana shook her head, "No. I mean, maybe it's just my bad experience with Dads but it might be a little weird for us to be living together and dating. Don't get me wrong, I love being there and I love seeing Rachel all the time and I get along really well with Hiram and Leroy but I can't help but think it might end up being kind of...awkward."

"I guess I can see your point." Quinn said as she tilted her head and thought about it, "From what you've said though I don't think it would be, but if you want my door is always open."

"Seriously?"

"Of course." Quinn replied with a grin, one that faded as she added "But there's something else though isn't there?"

Santana felt her shoulder sag as she looked up at the blonde, "I…I know that her Dads like me, they're letting me live with them for god's sake but it's different when I want to be with her. What if they don't think I'm good enough for her?"

"San…" Quinn murmured, leaning forward in her seat to hear the last whispered words.

"I'm just saying that, I'm not exactly the ideal person any parent would want dating their daughter and Rachel is…Rachel. She's smart, funny and talented, she's going to do big things with her life and I'm-I'm none of those things. I come with a truck load of issues, piss-poor grades and one fucked up history. I'm not good enough for her, anyone can see that."

Quinn shook her head, echoes of a similar conversation from prom playing out in her head, "That is not true Santana, you are so much more than your history and what's happened to you. You can't keep putting yourself down, Rachel is with you because she wants to be and I know for a fact that anyone would be lucky to have you."

Santana smiled shyly, "I've really missed you Quinn."

"I missed you too." The blonde replied.

"I know we can't go back and fix everything between us but…I'd really like to be friends again." Santana said a hopeful glint in her eye as she looked at her former best friend.

Quinn grinned, "I'd like that too."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – A small interlude with a little pezberry fluff before the glee club come stomping back into the picture!**

Santana couldn't help the smile that seemed to be glued to her face as she hopped up the stairs to the front door, a little extra bounce in her step as she fished her keys out of her jacket. She honestly didn't remember the last time she felt so good and she wasn't about to let that feeling go, as she cracked the door open and heard Rachel belting out some old school Broadway tune the Latina had to chuckle as a mischievous plan popped into her head.

Easing the front door shut Santana took off her jacket it and hung it on the nearby hook still listening to her girlfriend's voice filling the house. She knew the diva was in the kitchen and on her tip-toes she edged down the hallway as quietly as possible until she was hovering in the doorway. Santana paused as her eyes fell on Rachel, the singer standing over the sink oblivious to the Latina's presence, and as she slowly made her way over to the singer Santana wondered how she had ever gotten so luckily.

The Latina stopped just behind the smaller girl, a grin on her face as in one swift motion she wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist drawing her back against her chest. Santana was glad she had thought to include Rachel's arms in the hug as the diva let out a shout of surprise, flapping her arms before realising it was her girlfriend and relaxing.

"Ana? Oh my god, why would you that? You scared the crap out me!" Rachel squeaked, her body nestling back against the Latina's as heart tried to return to normal.

"That was kind of the plan." Santana giggled mischievously, as she dropped a quick kiss on the top of her girlfriends head, "Besides you looked way to cute, I couldn't help myself."

Rachel sighed contently, wiggling her arms free she turned gracefully in her girlfriends arms and placed a chaste kiss against her lips as she wrapped herself around the other girl, "Hmm…you're happy. I take it things went well with Quinn?"

Santana let out a hum, "Better than well, they went awesome. We're meeting up for again next week."

"That's great." Rachel whispered as she stole another kiss, the sweet moment broken by the sound of her phone buzzing on the counter, pulling back the diva groaned, "That must be Noah. Again. Somehow he found out about my Dads are out of town and he is insisting I throw another house party."

Santana chuckled, "That's Puck for you, he's got a sixth sense for parent-free houses."

Rachel grimaced as she managed to lean back and snatch her phone up from the counter, checking the text she shook her head despairingly, "What the heck is beer pong?"

The Latina laughed as she leant over to read the text upside down; she had to admit that when Rachel had first mentioned the idea of a glee party she had kind of freaked out a little. She was still hurt that she hadn't been included in their trip to the lake but she also knew she was partly to blame for isolating herself from the group, taking a deep breath Santana made a decision, "You should invite them over."

"What?" Rachel gaped, her eyes wide.

"Well, I mean maybe not to another Rachel Berry train wreck extravaganza but it is summer vacation and the house is empty…"

Rachel bit her lip as she looked up at the Latina, "And what about you and me? What do we tell them?"

Santana shifted her head from left to right as she pretended to think about it, the truth was she knew exactly what she wanted to do, "I figured we tell them that we're totally the hottest couple in the whole damn club and if they have a problem with it then they can go to hell."

Rachel laughed as she pulled the other girl closer, a wave of pride washing over her as she heard the confidence radiating from her girlfriend. She wasn't naïve enough to think that Santana was completely over her gay-panic but it was definitely a start, "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into anything."

"No. I'm ready." Santana said calmly, "Quinn already knows everything, and I'm guessing Kurt and Blaine won't exactly be too surprised. Beside the truth is, I was miserable when I was hiding away and pretending to be someone I'm not so how much more miserable could I be out in the open?"

"True…" Rachel murmured.

Santana blushed as she continued, her gaze focused solely on the girl in front of her, "I'm done being ashamed of who I am. I'm happy with you and I don't want to keep living a lie, I want people to know how incredible you are and how amazing you make me feel."

Rachel gripped the Latina tightly, her heart swelling at the words, "You've come a long way Santana, I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks." The Latina whispered, her lips brushing against her girlfriends as she murmured, "And I'd be really proud to call you my girlfriend, if you'll let me of course."

"That sounds perfect." The smaller girl replied, her eyes lighting up as Santana gently ran a hand through her hair, the Latina's eyes locking with Rachel's as she took a small step back.

Reaching up around her neck Santana undid the clasp of her necklace and gently removed it. She had worn the heart-shaped pendant pretty much every day for as long as she could remember, and she smiled as she held it in her hands before reaching up to place it around her girlfriends neck. When she was done her gaze lingered as she admired the way it sat perfectly against Rachel's skin, "My abuela left this to me when she passed away, she kept it hidden away in a jewellery box and when I visited her I would beg her to show me. I was the only one she would ever show it to because she knew that I knew how special it was. When she left it to me she said that it was meant for someone as special as it is and now, I think that's you."

Rachel felt tears welling up and hold back her emotions she stuttered, "You've giving me this? San…you can't, I mean it's-"

"It's perfect, like you." Santana concluded as she drew the girl towards her and leant down to capture her lips.

Deepening the kiss Rachel wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders, drawing their bodies impossibly close together as their tongues met. Both girls could feel the heat rising between them and it was only the sound of Rachel's phone going off again that broke their moment.

"That boy is such a cock-block." The Latina muttered, giggling when Rachel shot her an agreeing look.

With one hand Rachel quickly typed a reply to the mohawked boy telling him to invite the rest of the glee club and to keep it tame, she did not want to spend another day nursing a hangover and cleaning up after everyone. It had been hard enough the first time dealing with the debris of a high school party and the diva was not about to go through a repeat performance.

"Alright, Puck's going to rally the guys and get them here for around eight which means we have the rest of the day to sort everything out." Rachel began, her mind already making lists and plans, "We need to stop by the supermarket and collect supplies; plastic cups, snacks and soft drinks. Puck said he can arrange the alcohol which should mean we have extra time to decorate and organise everything downstairs."

Santana blinked at the quick fire information, she had to chuckle at the excited yet serious expression Rachel was giving her as she was undoubtedly coming up with an itinerary, with a playful salute she winked, "Yes Captain, aye-aye Captain!"

Rachel scowled playfully as she stuck out her tongue, "Enough of your wit, I'm going to go get my keys and you are going to be a dutiful girlfriend and help me organise this party."

"We've only been official for like ten minutes and you're already bossing me around." Santana joked, stealing a final kiss as she took a step back from her girlfriend.

Rachel laughed, "You love it."

"I kind of do." Santana replied wistfully as she took Rachel's hand and began tugging her towards the front door, "But I think that, I will keep a secret."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N – Here come the glee club….**

Santana yawned as she snapped open a can of red-bull, she and Rachel had spent the afternoon dragging themselves around supermarkets and sorting out the downstairs room for the glee party and now that it was reaching eight o'clock the Latina needed an energy boost. She contemplated whether the high caffeine intake was such as a good idea considering she was about to out herself, and her relationship with Rachel, to the group but another huge yawn settled that debate.

Santana was sitting in the kitchen, her eyes flicking from the clock to the door as she willed Rachel to be ready faster. The minutes were ticking by and the diva was still upstairs sorting out her hair, she had spent so long organising the karaoke that it had been well past seven before she had jumped in the shower even though Santana had been bugging her constantly. The Latina wanted them to greet everyone together rather than the club getting blindsided with her presence at the Berry household. They had decided to wait until the whole club was together before they made their announcement properly, but Santana figured they were all going to know something was going on when they thought she had been the first one to arrive, after all Santana was infamous late to everything.

It had taken them a while to come to an agreement on how to tell everyone and what to tell them after all it wasn't the best of situations that had brought them together in the first place. Santana had debated with herself, and then with Rachel, over how much she was willing to share and in the end she had settled for a more sanitised version of events. Rachel had been slightly unhappy about it, telling the Latina that the club would support her if they knew about her father but Santana eventually argued that she simply wasn't comfortable with everyone knowing how abusive her father had gotten. While she no longer felt it was her fault, nor was she ashamed, she would still rather keep some things private and she did have Quinn to turn to if she needed someone besides Rachel to talk to.

The sound of the doorbell rang through the house and Santana felt her heart leap into her throat, as she got up from her stool and made her way to the front door she cast one last look up the stairs hoping that Rachel would suddenly appear. When she didn't the Latina sighed and then taking a deep breath she pulled herself to her full height and mustering all her confidence she pulled open the front door.

"Quinn." Santana stated, her eyes raking up and down the other girl as she happily confirmed the other girls arrived, and undeniably glad the ex-cheerleader had turned up first.

"Santana." The blonde replied with a big smile as she gestured for her friend to let her in the house, "I figured it might be good if I turned up a little early."

The Latina nodded but before she could answer the sound of two voices floating up behind them cut her off. With a quick glance over Quinn's shoulder Santana spotted Kurt and Blaine trotting up the path, each clutching the others hand as they arrived on the doorstep. Before anyone could say anything Rachel's voice quickly followed as she bounced down the stairs and stood next to Santana.

"Hey guys! Thanks for coming." She beamed as she ushered them all inside and towards the stairs down to the basement.

As they all followed the diva Santana couldn't help but notice the strange glance Kurt sent her way and as they all took their seats on the sofas downstairs it seemed he couldn't contain himself any longer, casually waving his hand between the two brunettes he asked, "So, how long have you two been dating?"

Santana opened her mouth to reply but quickly snapped it shut, her eyes meeting Rachel's who looked equally bemused.

Blaine laughed as Kurt let out an exaggerated sigh and pointed to Rachel, "You're wearing Santana's necklace. Her trademark necklace, the one she never takes off and pretty much threaten my life for when she thought I lost it."

"Oh." Rachel exhaled, her normally razor sharp brain failing her. She knew they had agreed to tell everyone at once but there wasn't much she could say to fool Kurt now. As her hand reached up to fiddle with the chain, she smiled when Santana began to speak.

"I didn't threaten you." She said with a nonchalant shrug, "I threaten to rip off your balls and with good reason, that necklace is the most important thing I own."

"But now Rachel's wearing it." Blaine cut in with a knowing smile.

"Trust you two to notice that." The Latina drawled, her hand reaching out to take Rachel's as she calmly sighed, "We were going to wait and do some awkward announcement but yes Rachel and I are together, okay?"

Kurt and Blaine both cheered, their smiling faces soon bouncing up from the opposite couch as they clapped and reached over to draw Rachel in for hugs. Santana had to chuckle when the two boys look hesitantly at her before taking the plunge and pulled her in for a slightly uncomfortable embrace. As Kurt pulled back though his face suddenly changed and he spun around to look at Quinn, a little fear on his face as he tried to gage her reaction. He had been so caught up in his discovery he had forgotten about the former cheerleader.

"I already knew." The blonde beamed, trying to seem casual before adding "And I'm happy for you both."

Quinn and Rachel shared a smile, they might not be on the best terms but they both knew that they each had Santana's best interests at heart. Before anything else could be said the sound of the doorbell going off again drew their attention, with a groan Quinn said, "That sounds a lot like a drunken-Puck."

Rachel grimaced as she turned to face Santana with a hopeful look.

Understanding the silent request the Latina huffed, "Alright, fine I'll go."

She tried to ignore the whipping noise Quinn made and instead surprised everyone, including herself, by leaning over and giving Rachel a quick kiss. She hadn't exactly planned it, public displays of affection were not normally her thing, but it seemed right and besides she didn't know when she'd get to do it again for a while. The loving smile on Rachel's face as she pulled back made Santana sigh happily before she dragged herself up off the couch and upstairs.

She vaguely heard Kurt and Blaine gushing about how cute they were but decided to ignore it, she could win back some badass points later when she drank them under the table.

"Oh my god, chill out!" the Latina shouted as she flung open the door to reveal a dishevelled Puck and Lauren.

Puck hiccupped as his eyes fell on the brunette, "Satan? Why the hell are you answering Berry's door?"

"Because no-one wants to deal with your drunken ass." Santana replied with a smile as she let the couple inside, "Now come on, there are people downstairs who needs their alcohol."

It wasn't long before the whole club were packing into Rachel's basement, a mass of teenagers eagerly pouring themselves drinks as the evening began. Santana and Rachel stood off to one side as they each clutched their own drinks, they both knew that simply by standing together someone was bound to start asking questions and it wasn't long before the first one came.

"Okay, girl I have to ask." Mercedes piped up, her wine cooler glued to her hand as she gestured towards the couple, "What is going on with you two? Since when we you friends?"

Santana took a deep breath; this was her cue – well their cue really – to get everything out in the open. She cast a quick look at her girlfriend, drawing strength from the supportive smile she received Santana cleared her throat, "Actually that's part of something I need to talk to you guys about, or tell you I guess."

Mercedes frowned, the serious tone of the Latina quelling the playful jokes she had been thinking off. The whole of the glee club seemed to hone in on the importance of the conversation and even Puck managed to calm down enough to take a seat on the floor and listen to his friend.

"So, I-I…I've been living here this summer." Santana stammered, cursing the way her speech betrayed her. She wanted to sound calm and collected but she knew that wasn't going to happen, she was about to drop a whole bunch of bombshells on the group and she had no idea how they would react, "My Dad kicked me out a little while ago and Rachel and her Dads took me in."

It was Tina who spoke next, her quiet voice the thoughts of everyone in the room, "Why did he kick you out?"

Santana could feel her heart pounding in her chest, she knew that most of the people in the room knew or at least had a good idea about her sexuality but having to announce it was still scary, taking a deep breath the Latina lifted her head to look at the group, "Because I'm gay."

She heard the collective gasp around the room but frowned when most of the chatter seemed to be about the fact she had been thrown out then the fact she had just come out.

"He can't do that!" Mercedes half-shouted, outraged at the thought.

Santana scoffed a little, "Can and did, but it's better this way. We never really got along and he was…angry…a lot."

Rachel watched her friends carefully; her heart-warming at the compassionate look on the glee members faces. She knew that all of them had picked up on the double-meaning of the Latina's last sentence and she also knew it was hitting them all that they didn't really knowing anything about the girl standing in front of them.

"So, you're gay? For real?" Puck piped up suddenly, sounding confused as he took another swig of his beer and steered the conversation away from Santana's father.

Santana nodded, "For real."

"But we totally had hot, sweaty sex." He replied, his speech slurred as he tried to piece the information together, "Plus you hooked up with Finn and Sam."

The Latina cringed, she could sense her girlfriend's temper flaring at the mention of her sexual history and she was glad when Lauren unleashed her fist across into the boy's arm, "Don't be an ass."

Santana laughed as she watched Puck shrink back, holding his hands up apologetically, "For the record, since apparently I'm an open book tonight as much as I hate it, Finn and me was a one-time unsatisfactory deal for both of us and Sam and I never slept together."

Finn made no response, his eyes focused downwards as he fiddled with the label on his beer while Sam smiled when everyone turned to look at him, "It's true."

"As for you and me Puck, we might have hooked up but most of the time I was drunk and the rest of the time it was not you I was thinking off."

"Way to break a guy's ego." Puck gasped as he playfully clutched his chest, his eyes widening as he half-shouted, "Wait, hold up! Does this mean I have to compete with you for girls now?"

The genuine fear in her friend's voice made Santana, and the rest of the girls, laugh especially when Lauren smacked Puck again. When the laughed died down Santana bit her lip nervously as she felt Rachel take a step forward to stand closely by her side, it was now or never.

"Actually not so much." Santana began, her eyes flicking from person to person. She was curious to see how the rest of the club would react but she would be lying if she said she wasn't more concerned about Brittany's reaction, and Finn. It was obvious to everyone that the boy was still in love with Rachel and she knew he wasn't about to let her go without a fight. Whereas with Brittany, well Santana had no idea how the blonde was going to take the news. The dancer hadn't said anything at all at Santana's coming out choosing instead to remain quietly sat on Arties lap with a proud smile which Santana took as a positive sign at least.

"Dude, you hooked up!" Puck cheered as he looked around for a high-five, which Mercedes of all people reluctantly acknowledged if only to silence him.

Santana could see Artie shifting nervously in his chair, and a few pairs of eyes going between her and Brittany and she knew Rachel was seeing the same thing. Before the singer could get upset Santana reached down and took the smaller girls hand, lacing their fingers together she shrugged, "It's more than a hook-up Puckerman, Rachel and I are together."

The silence which fell after that statement was deafening and Santana swore she could actually hear the second hand ticking in all the clocks in the house as shocked faces stared back at her. She was so glad that at least three of the club were already on her side because the way time was standing still she didn't know if she'd be able to deal with the explosion that was obviously about to happen.

Tina and Mercedes came first, with a shriek of epic proportions as they shot up from the floor to face Kurt and Blaine, "Oh my god!"

Mike and Sam contained themselves a little better, each giving the girl's a thumbs up and a smile. Lauren looked like she couldn't care less, whilst Puck had an expression which told the Latina he was thinking of them getting it on which she would have to beat him for later. Artie just looked relieved.

Then Santana gathered herself to look at the two reactions she and Rachel had been most concerned about. Brittany was still sat on Arties lap but now her eyes were flicking between the two brunettes in confusion as she tried to process the news. Santana normally prided herself on being able to understand the blonde better than anyone but right now she had no idea what her friend was thinking and she didn't get any time to think about it.

"This is garbage!" Finn shouted angrily, his body suddenly snapping to life as he hauled himself off of the bar where he had been sitting.

Rachel stepped forward as he lumbered over to them, calmly shaking her head she began "No, it isn't. I know this might be hard to you, given our previous history, but I am with Santana now and I hope that you'll respect that and in time, be happy for us."

"How the hell can I be happy for you?" he shouted, ignoring the way the rest of the club were staring at him, "Rachel, you can't date her she's-she's…"

"I'm what?" Santana growled her grip on Rachel's hand tightening as she barely contained her anger.

"You're a bitch." Finn exploded, "You're been nothing but horrible to Rachel from Day One and now we're supposed to believe that you are actually capable of feelings? Or that we'd feel sorry for you because you got kicked out and that would make all of this okay?"

Rachel felt the blood pulsing through her body, "You have no right to-"

"I have every right Rachel; I'm your friend I'm just trying to look out for you. Anyone can see that this is wrong." He argued, his eyes searching the room for some support. Finding none he turned back to his ex-girlfriend with a desperate look, "You're so much better than this Rachel, than her, she'll never be good enough for you."

The silence which descended after Finn's outburst was unbearable; none of the glee kids knew what to do as they looked between the three teens. They had all expected Santana to lose it, to fly off the handle and start spewing Spanish at Finn but instead she seemed frozen in place and only Quinn fully understood why. The blonde found herself jumping up from her spot on the couch her teeth grinding together as she went to shout at the boy only to be beaten to it.

"You need to get out of my house." Rachel said her voice quiet and dangerous as she glared at her ex, "Now."

Finn gulped, he knew he had crossed a line and without another word he spun on his heel and shuffling around Quinn with a terrified look he bolted up the stairs, his absence confirmed as the sound of the front door slamming reverberated around the house.

Rachel let out a sigh of relief which was cut short when she felt Santana letting go of her hand, she felt her heart plummet as she turned to face her girlfriend who was doing her best to remain emotionless. She could see the Latina's defences going up, and she hated Finn more than ever as she watched her girlfriend do her best to appear as though the words hadn't hurt her.

"Ana…" Rachel tried as she grabbed one of the Latina's hands in her own and used her other to cup her cheek.

Avoiding eye contact Santana muttered, "Whatever. It's fine."

"It is not fine. We both knew there was a chance he would react like this; he's just lashing out because he's angry. Not that it justifies his behaviour in anyway." Rachel stressed, fully aware that everyone in the room was watching them even while they pretended to not be. "Finn does not get to tear down everything we've built between us, he doesn't know you – not like I do – if he did he would know that you are more than 'good-enough' for me, you're perfect for me. You are the one I want to be with, okay?"

Lifting her gaze from the floor Santana offered a half-smile, "I wouldn't blame you if you changed your mind."

"Not going to happen." Rachel said firmly, a grin on her face as she felt Santana lean in to rest their foreheads together.

Before Santana could reply she heard someone walk over to them and stop by their side, the truth was the Latina didn't know how much more she could handle in one night and when she broke away from her girlfriend and saw Brittany standing there, her heart sank.

"Britt I-" Santana tried but found herself cut off abruptly as Brittany suddenly went for a hug.

The blonde clung to her fiercely, "I'm so proud of you, San."

"What?" the Latina asked, her confused look matching Rachel's.

"You finally admitted your Lebanese." The dancer beamed, her arms still wrapped around her friend.

Santana laughed as she automatically corrected her friend, "Lesbian, Britt."

"Oh, right. That too." Brittany said happily as she released Santana from the bear hug. It only took the blink of an eye for her to turn and face Rachel, who soon found herself wrapped in her own Brittany hug. The dancers long arms wrapping around her small frame as she clutched the singer tightly, "She's my best friend so you have to take extra good care of her, okay?"

Rachel nodded, her arms stuck to her sides as she smiled, "I promise."

Brittany seemed to deem that an acceptable answer and let go of the smaller girl, taking a step back she stood in front of the new couple with an uncharacteristically serious look, "I'm sorry your Dad was so mean S, but I'm glad you're happy now."

"Me too." Santana replied, a twinge of guilt creeping in when she thought about all the things she had kept a secret from her best friend.

Brittany grinned, her eyes widening with excitement as she bounced up and down on her toes, "Does this mean we can go on double dates now?"

Santana stumbled over her words before stuttering out, "I…yeah, I-I guess…"

"Yay!" Brittany squealed as she clapped her hands together and immediately ran over to Artie to apparently share the exciting news.

Santana laughed as she turned back to Rachel with a bemused shake of her head, she had almost forgotten how short the blondes attention span could be sometimes. Taking a deep breath Santana hesitated before smiling and reaching out to pull Rachel towards her, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl's waist the Latina had to admit she could definitely get used to all this mushy PDA stuff. She knew that the club were still keeping an eye on them but she didn't care as she leant down to draw Rachel into a kiss.

"So, that could have gone better huh?" Pulling back Santana gave her girlfriend a lopsided grin, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it could have gone worse too." Rachel replied diplomatically as she leant her forearms against the taller girls chest and looked up at her. "Sorry he was such an ass."

"It's not your fault." Santana said, though it was obvious she was still hurt by his words, "I can't really blame him for being pissed that he blew his chance with you, I'd be pretty angry too."

Rachel smiled, "That's sweet, I think. But it doesn't change the fact he shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I'll hunt him down and kick his ass tomorrow."

"Ana…" the smaller girl warned as she raised an eyebrow.

The Latina chuckled, her head dipping slightly as she placed a comforting kiss on the singer's temple, "I'm kidding Ray. Look, he's mad right now but give it a couple of days and once he's sober and had a chance to think about it, maybe he'll come around…or at least be less of a pendejo about it all. If not, then I'll kick his ass."

"Please, if he ever says anything like that to you again then he'll have me to deal with." Rachel stressed, a serious glint in her eye "No-one gets to talk to you like that, ever."

"You're awesome." Santana felt her chest swell with happiness, she would never have thought one evening could produce so many conflicting emotions or that she would be standing in the Berry basement with Rachel in her arms, surrounded by friends who supported her. She knew that she still needed to talk with Brittany properly, she owed the blonde that, but for tonight so was happy to put everything aside so she and Rachel could enjoy themselves.

Rachel giggled, "I have my moments."

"That you do." Santana said with a nod, resentfully letting go of her girlfriend. Linking their hands together she began dragging her over to where Quinn and Mercedes were just opening a new bottle of vodka, "And that is definitely something I can drink to!"

**A/N – I can't help but cast Finn in the bad guy role, one day I'll try and make him the good guy but not for a while! Only a tiny Brittany mention here but she'll feature more in the next chapter. I wanted to flesh the Santana/Brittany issues out properly so only a brief bit here and more to come : )**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N – Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, I do love writing Finn as the bad guy and I'm glad people seem to agree! So this is the Brittany-centric chapter, I always struggle to get a grip on her character as she can be almost like two different people sometimes but I had a lot of fun with this so hopefully it works.**

The pounding headache and waves of nausea that Santana had woken up to had just started to disappear as the clock stuck three the next afternoon. She had only managed to sleep until around eight before she was woken up by the undeniable urge to pee and get some water, of course in getting up she had started a trend and soon the whole club had gathered in the kitchen. The Latina had quickly set about making everyone clear up the mess from the previous night before they went home as she had no desire for her and Rachel to be left dealing with it by themselves.

By the time everyone had left, the house was spotless and the couple were able to curl up on the couch and channel surf while they consumed an insane amount of food. Santana had claimed eating was the best hangover cure and she knew she had convinced the diva. As they ate they chatted casually about the previous night, or at least the parts they could remember, and laughed as they pieced their memories back together.

With a quick check of her watch Santana groaned as she saw it was rapidly approaching four o'clock. She had made plans to meet Brittany for a much needed caffeine boost while Rachel was meant to be meeting Kurt and Mercedes for what was obviously a much needed gossip and catch-up session.

"Ay dios mio." Santana complained as she buried her face into the cushions, "No me gusta."

Rachel giggled, her feet stretching out as she yawned, "Tell me again why we made plans today?"

"Because we are idiots." Santana replied firmly, her head still resting on the cushions as she looked at her girlfriend, "And because we dropped the mother of all bombshells on our friends last night, had a huge public argument with Finn and then got insanely drunk and sang a ridiculous amount of karaoke and from what I remember got a little…handsy with each other."

"So there is no chance we can close the blinds and hide in here for the rest of the day then?" the singer asked her sad puppy dog eyes firmly in place.

Santana tilted her head as she gave it some serious consideration, "Hmm…as much as I'd love that I think we have to venture outside."

Rachel sighed in defeat as she reluctantly pulled herself to her feet, letting out another loud yawn she turned to hoist her girlfriend up off the couch. Glancing down at her outfit the singer was glad they had both chosen to shower and get vaguely presentable earlier because she did not have the energy to do much more than hop in her car and get herself over to Mercedes's house.

"Are you sure you don't want a lift?" Rachel asked as she watched Santana pull on her leather jacket.

The Latina shook her head, "Nah, I'm good. It's only a ten minute walk to the coffee shop and I think I need the fresh air to shift the last of this hangover."

Grabbing her keys from the table Rachel nodded as she let Santana brush past her to the front door. Once the house was locked the two girl's made their way down the path until they stopped by Rachel's car, the smaller girl leaning against the door as she let Santana hover over her. She loved the way her heart fluttered as the Latina pushed their bodies together, their lips meeting gracefully as they said their goodbye.

Santana moaned softly as she pulled back, "I'll see you tonight okay?"

Rachel hummed as she pulled the Latina close again, already missing the feel of her lips, "I don't wanna go."

"Yes you do." Santana said with a chuckle, as she reluctantly pulled away, "Now get your cute little butt in that car, the quicker we get this over with the quicker we can get back to getting our mack on."

The Latina grinned as Rachel finally dragged herself into her car and pulled out of the drive, offering a little wave as her girlfriend drove passed, Santana wondered if it was okay that she was already missing the tiny diva. With a shrug she pulled her jacket closer as she yawned, the thought of caffeine dragging her body towards the coffee shop.

It didn't take long for Santana to make the short walk and as she stood queuing for her drink her eyes scanned the shop as she waited for Brittany. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk properly last night and she knew there were still a lot of things that they needed to talk about, the fact that the blonde was seemingly okay that she was now dating Rachel made the Latina relax at least a little bit.

"Large black Americano." The barista called.

Santana gratefully accepting the drink and after adding a ton of sugar she headed over to one of the big sofas to wait for her friend. It didn't take long for the dancer to appear, her cheerful entrance drawing the attention of everyone as she bounced up to the counter and proceeded to order the most sugar-ridden thing on offer. Santana smiled as she watched the blonde's naturally good mood rub off on everyone around her and when the dancer turned to give her a wave Santana saw the barista slip an extra couple of cookies on the tray.

"Hey, S!" Brittany beamed as she plonked herself down on the sofa next to her friend, her hands reaching out to grasp the mug of hot chocolate and one of the cookies.

"Hey B." the Latina replied, taking the cookie that was offered to her, "Lemme guess, no hangover this morning? At all?"

Brittany shook her head, her mouth full of food she settled for a shrug as well.

Santana gave her friend a playful scowl in return, "You kind of suck."

"At least you didn't spend the morning throwing up." Brittany reasoned, "I think Puck's going to be feeling last night for a while."

Santana laughed as she remembered how green Puck had looked that morning when he eventually dragged himself out of the downstairs bathroom. The boy liked to drink but he wasn't necessarily the best at handling it, despite what he might tell people.

A comfortable quiet descend upon the two girls, each lost in her own thoughts. It was Brittany who eventually broke it, her normally carefree expression replaced with a pained one as she whispered, "I'm sorry about your Dad."

Santana looked away, a strange sense of guilt building up as she replied, "Me too. I'm…I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"I understand." Brittany said with a wise nod, "You had your reasons and even though I don't think they were the right ones, I know you did."

Santana shrugged as she turned to face her friend, "I-I didn't want anyone to know that even my own Dad didn't want me around."

Brittany nodded but stayed uncharacteristically quiet as she took a sip of her drink, her eyes staring at the table rather than her friend. A few moments passed before the blonde looked up, tears pooling at the corner of her eyes as she choked out, "I-I never knew he hurt you. I hate the idea that anyone would ever hurt you."

The quiet pain in the blonde's voice cut sharply through Santana and she felt her chest tighten, she didn't want her friend to feel bad for not figuring it all out sooner. With a heaviness in her heart the Latina sighed, "I got good at hiding it, a few dodged questions and some long sleeves here and there…I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Brittany said, reaching her hand over to clasp the Latina's. She didn't want her friend to feel bad, "But I-I could have helped…I could have protected you."

The simplicity of the words brought tears to her eyes and she instantly hated the guilt and remorse she had caused her friend. Santana smiled sadly, memories of a similar conversation with Quinn floating back to her, "You couldn't have helped Brit, no-one could. I thought – I thought I deserved it, that I wasn't good enough and that was my punishment. Until he threw me out I didn't realise how bad it was, how much I needed someone."

"But you went to Rachel." Brittany stated, her eyes focused on the Latina, "Why not me?"

Santana let out a sigh as she nervously fiddled with the handle of her mug, she didn't want to make the dancer feel bad but she knew she had to tell her the truth, "Because of everything that happened Brit. You chose Artie, you rejected me and then I kept pushing you away and…we were a mess. When my Dad kicked me out, there's no way I could have seen you without thinking about all of that and the last thing I needed to be reminded of was that I lost you."

"You never lost me San."

The Latina shook her head as she stared out across the shop, "Except yeah, I kind of did. Everything was so awkward between us; it wasn't like it used to be. I knew if I saw you, I'd be consumed with all the bad stuff and I needed someone to remind me of the good."

Brittany frowned; it pained her to hear even it was hard to disagree with the Latina's reasoning but still there was one thing she was confused about, "And that someone was Rachel?"

"Yeah, I mean she sees the good in everyone." Santana said, a smile cracking through her pained exterior as she thought of her girlfriend, "I mean, it was weird at first. I showed up on her doorstep out of nowhere looking like a total mess but somehow she pieced me back together."

"Does she make you happy?" Brittany asked bluntly as she pushed some more marshmallows into her chocolate.

Santana grinned, her eyes dropping bashfully as she nodded, "Yeah, she really does."

Brittany blinked, a dejected look flashing across her features before she smiled, "Then that's all that matters."

The Latina frowned as she watched Brittany fiddle with her spoon, aimlessly swirling the little marshmallows around. She prided herself on being able to read the blonde better than anyone, the dancers moods ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other and sometimes it was hard to work out which side of the blonde you were going to get, but right now Santana had no idea what was running through the other girls mind, "Brit, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…I just…" Brittany let out a loud sigh, "I'm mad."

Santana frowned, her eyes scanning the blonde for any further information, "Okay. About what?"

"Rachel."

Santana felt her breath catch in her chest; she desperately wanted Brittany to be okay with her new relationship. Finn was already being a total jackass, the last she and Rachel needed was another angry ex.

Brittany lifted her eyes to connect with Santana's and instantly saw the worry, "No! I didn't mean like-I'm okay with you and Rachel dating, really, I mean I have Artie so it would be horrible and selfish for me not to want you to be happy too and I think that maybe things were meant to be this way, me and Artie and you and Rachel. It works, and I'm glad you have her but…"

"But…"

Brittany felt a tear escape as she sniffed, "We were best friends San, I wish I could have been the one to help but instead we barely even talk anymore and now you're dating Rachel so we'll never get to see each other and she gets you all to herself."

"B, just because I'm with Rachel now doesn't mean we can't be friends." Santana said, relief washing through her. "I know things have been awkward but I still want you in my life, it's just different now."

Brittany nodded, wiping away her tears she half-asked half-stated, "No more lady-kisses?"

"No." Santana said with a gentle chuckle, "Not for you anyways."

The blonde giggled in response, her eyes shining brightly as she pulled her friend into a big hug, "I'm missed you so much San."

"I've missed you too Brit."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N – Hey guys, sorry for the delay between chapters, I've been busy fan-girling over on tumblr and for some reason got a whole bunch of new ideas but lost my writing mojo. This chapter is my first attempt at a character-centric pov that isn't Santana, possible ever, I write and plan everything around her but I figured Rachel needed a chapter of her own here.**

**Thesilentpath: I had already got a fair amount of this chapter done and it is mostly in Rachel's perspective rather than Mercedes but hopefully I got enough of her side of things in to make you happy **

Rachel let out a quiet groan of displeasure as she turned off her engine. It hadn't taken long for her to drive over to Mercedes' house but she was already missing her girlfriend's presence and although it occurred to her that it might be little crazy to be so attached to the other girl she quickly shrugged it off. Summoning the last of her energy the diva dragged herself from her car and managed to get herself to the front door as the mumbled a promise to herself about never drinking again. It might have been fun learning about beer pong but it was not enough to make today's hangover a regular occurance.

Ringing the doorbell Rachel heard the sound of two voices inside and smiled as the door was flung open to reveal an excited Mercedes and Kurt, "About time, we were starting to think you stood us up to make the nasty with your new girl."

Rachel rolled her eyes at the playful banter and step inside the Jones house. Following her two friends into the living room the petite girl gracefully sunk down onto one of the sofas as Mercedes and Kurt took their places on the one opposite. In the middle there was a table with an array of drinks and snacks strewn about and the diva smiled as she saw the beginning of _Grease_ playing out on the television in the corner of the room, "I see you started without me."

Mercedes grinned as she picked up a carton of apple juice and tossed it to her friend, "Hey, you were the one who was late."

"And I think we all know what you were doing." Kurt added with a cheeky grin.

Rachel blushed as she pushed the straw into her juice and look a long sip, "Is watching cartoons such a crime now?"

Kurt scoffed as he picked up a handful of skittles, "We're supposed to believe you and Santana were_ watching cartoons."_

"We were." Rachel insisted, eventually adding "And there maybe have been some kissing and a tiny amount of cuddling involved."

"Santana cuddles?" Kurt practically shrieked his eyes wide in disbelief as he looked to Mercedes who sported a similar expression.

Rachel frowned, she knew her friends were joking around but she felt a strong defensive urge kick in and needed to defend her girlfriend, "Yes, she does. There's a lot you don't know about her, in fact you barely know the real Santana at all."

The laughter stopped as both of her friends offered an apologetic smile, Kurt felt a wave of guilt as he saw the hurt look in his friends eye. He hadn't meant to offend the smaller girl, "Sorry Rach, I only meant it's not exactly how I'm used to thinking of Santana."

Rachel nodded with a sigh, "I know it's just that's kind of my point - everyone has this preconceived notion of who Santana is but before this summer no-one knew anything about her. I'm not trying to set myself apart here, I know I did it to, but I feel like we kept going on about glee being a family and pulling together…yet we never included her. We ignored any signs she was miserable and just labelled her as a bitch and moved on." Rachel looked up at her two friends who were watching her intently, "I know some of that was her pushing us away, so does she, but the fact is we made the effort to help everyone except her. We banded together for Quinn who was just as bad as Santana but I saw she was unhappy and I didn't do anything about it."

Mercedes frowned, it didn't escape her notice that Rachel had ended up with the words, I, instead of we, but if the truth be told Mercedes was feeling her own level of guilt at discovering some of Santana's secrets and hearing Rachel's speech only made her feel worse. She had spent numerous hours with the Latina, planning and rehearsing duets and had probably been the one to spend the most time with her apart from Brittany but she simply hadn't taken the time to really look at Santana and see she was suffering. She couldn't really understand why she didn't noticed how miserable her friend was but when they worked together it was always just that, work. They picked songs and organised harmonies and whatever was going on outside of the music just kind of faded away. Mercedes was only now figuring out that it was probably the other girls way of escaping from her everyday life and that was why they still had regular phone calls to work on songs for the upcoming year.

Mercedes frowned as she shook her head sadly, she hated that Santana had been able to hide everything so well but she hated it even more that she had let her, "There's no way any of us could have really known what was happening."

"I know, but I still feel guilty."

"Well you shouldn't." Kurt piped up, his face stern as he continued, "The fact is we all left Santana to her own devices, you are no more to blame than the rest of us so despite the obviously connect you two now share, you shouldn't shoulder all the blame."

Mercedes nodded gravely but remained uncharacteristically quiet as she stared down at her hands.

Kurt continued as he let out a sigh, "And while I'm not entirely sure Santana would have willingly accepted our help had we known what she was going through, the only solace we can take it that we do know that if we had known the full extent of her problems then we would have helped her whether she wanted us to or not."

"Kurt's right, I know we can be pretty self-involved at times and I think we all feel bad we didn't notice or do anything for Santana but in the end, Santana came to you Rachel and you helped her so now we all have a chance to make things right."

Rachel smiled sadly, "I supposed you're right but I still worry that…"

"That what?" Kurt asked gently, a frown passing between himself and Mercedes as they both watched the smaller girl.

"That if it happens again, if he comes back….I won't be able to protect her." Rachel whispered, her eyes cast down at her hands as she fiddled with the juice carton, "I mean you've seen Santana's Dad Kurt, he's terrifying. How am I supposed to save her from him?"

Kurt bit his lip, he could feel two sets of eyes watching him intently, "Physically? You can't…you're a tiny person and he is not but you have more than proved that you can protect Santana. You shouted at her Dad and told him exactly what needed to be said and Rachel sweetie, it's pretty clear to everyone that you have saved her from him."

Rachel felt her eyes misting, "But what if he comes back?"

"Then you have us to help you." Mercedes interjected, "He might be a scary-ass guy but we definitely have strength in numbers and judging by Puck's face last night when he heard about everything, Mr Lopez should be watching his back."

"It's true." Kurt agreed with a sincere smile, "He knows his secrets out; he'd be stupid to try anything again and think he could get away with it."

Rachel smiled as she exhaled loudly, the thought of Mr Lopez coming back had been playing on her mind for a while but the thought that the entire glee club were now only a phone call away was a big comfort, "If I had my way then he'd never get to say another word to her again."

Kurt nodded, his own face clouded with concern as he recalled their previous encounter with Santana's father, "I think we're all behind you on that one."

"Except for Finn." Mercedes pointed out, one eyebrow raised as she fought back her annoyance at her best friends brother.

Kurt's eyes flew to Rachel as he offered her an apologetic look, "I can't believe how he acted the other night Rachel, I'm sorry, he had no right to say the things he did especially after Santana told us about getting kicked out."

"Have you spoken to him much since?" the diva asked, not entire sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"A little bit but mostly…mostly he stays in his room. I think he's pretty ashamed of the way he acted." Kurt began his voice dropping as he added "He told me he still loves you."

"Funny way of showing it." The small girl muttered, "If he cared about me at all, he would want me to be happy whether it was with him or not."

Mercedes nodded, "Well, yeah but I think he's more worried about you getting hurt."

"It was a pretty big bombshell to drop on us all." Kurt tried; he hated getting stuck in the middle of Rachel and Finn's dramas. It wasn't easy to stay neutral all the time especially when he could see both points of view, "I'm not saying that makes what he did any less awful but I do think you need to talk to him."

The smaller girl shrugged, it wasn't exactly an idea that was high on her list of things she wanted to do but she had to admit it would probably save a lot of drama if the two of them had an actual conversation rather than creating a rumour mill and a heap of tension. "I will but maybe not for a little while, okay? I wouldn't want to say something in anger and make the whole situation worse than it already is."

Kurt and Mercedes nodded their agreement before Mercedes reached over to grab a cookie off the table. As quiet filled the room Rachel sighed she knew she was fidgeting in her seat, a habit which annoyed her intensely but she could feel her two friends watching her and she knew they had a catalogue of question they were just waiting to ask. As the seconds ticked by and neither of her friends spoke it was Rachel who finally cracked, "Okay I know you're dying to ask your questions so do it…go crazy…"

Kurt clapped his hands together as he got in first, "Were you guys together before…when Blaine and I bumped into you at the movies?"

"No, we were friends and Santana was staying with me obviously but that's all."

"So…how did it start? Who made the first move?" Mercedes followed up, a big grin on her face, she definitely needed to hear some happy gossip to balance out the drama.

Rachel bit her lip as she thought about it, "It just sort of happened I suppose. I mean, officially Santana asked me out to a casual dinner and I accidently took us on a date to _Le Vin_, which by the way never ever go to, and once we'd run as fast as possible from the worst restaurant I have ever been to we ended up in the park and…we kissed."

Kurt sighed dramatically as she clutched his chest, "Ah, young love."

Rachel rolled her eyes a smile on her face as she blushed, "You can make fun of me all you want. It was perfect."

"So, she makes you happy?" Mercedes pressed, an eyebrow raised as she watched Rachel's lovesick expression.

"She does." The small diva replied simply.

Both of her friends smiled at this, the soppy expression on Rachel's face was undeniably adorable. Kurt giggled as he asked, "Does this mean you two are going to be singing all the duets this year?"

Rachel nodded excitedly, "I have already selected some fantastic songs which I believe will work perfectly. In fact, we already performed a fantastic number at a karaoke contest a few days ago and came in first place. Vocal adrenaline doesn't stand a chance this year."

"You got Santana to do karaoke with you?" Mercedes quipped, one eyebrow raised in astonishment, apart from a drunken Blaine most people tended to stay away from Rachel when she was anywhere near a karaoke machine, Mercedes included. It wasn't that the smaller girl wasn't amazing at it obviously, or fun, there was just a particular incident involved _SingStar_ that most of the club would sooner forget.

"It was her suggestion actually." Rachel replied proudly, "She knew it would be something I'd love to do so she planned the whole night."

Kurt nodded in approval as he reached for his water, he had to admit this new side of Santana he was seeing and hearing about was something of a surprise and he liked it. If she could make one of his best friends this happy then he would gladly give his blessing. He had gotten used to seeing Rachel mop over Finn, or listen to Finn going on about Rachel and he never got the feeling that those two were meant to be together but even knowing a tiny bit about Rachel and Santana made him sure that the two girls were a perfect fit.

"Has she let you keep any of your animal sweaters?" Mercedes joked, as she flicked a skittle in her mouth.

"That's funny." Rachel replied with a quick roll of her eyes, "Although she may have persuaded me not to purchase something the other day."

Kurt clapped his hands together happily, "Does this mean…shopping trip? You me, Mercedes and Santana. I mean now you're with Santana everyone at McKinley will be way to terrified to slushy you so…no more sweaters?"

"I like my clothes." Rachel pouted.

"And so do I." Kurt lied, "But a wardrobe change never hurt."

Rachel decided not to mention the time her friend sabotaged her wardrobe in an attempt to put Finn off her instead she shrugged, "I'll think about it."

"It's all I ask." The small boy grinned.

"Although…" Rachel began quietly, her gaze dropping as she mumbled, "I'm not so sure you're right about the slushy ban. I know people are pretty intimidated by Santana's reputation but…I don't know if it's enough to protect both of us when everyone finds out."

Kurt grimaced, he knew first-hand how bad the halls of McKinley high could be but something told him that Santana had the advantage, "Seriously, after Coach Sylvester, Santana is the person people in that school fear the most. I know it's not necessarily been an advantage to her recently and I know that a lot of the reason she's been segregated in glee club is because we were afraid of her but I honestly think she can use it to her advantage now."

"Kurt's got a point." Mercedes piped up, "No-one would dare mess with Santana. The only person to ever slushy her had the tyres on his car mysteriously slashed."

"That wasn't actually her." Rachel pointed out, "Principal Figgin's couldn't prove anything and she told me the other day that she wasn't even in school when it happened, she was off sick."

"But people still believed it. Everyone thinks she's a badass." Kurt explained, "Even without the cheerios she owns that school. No-one apart from us needs to know she's actually a big softie who takes her girlfriend to karaoke and carries her up to bed when she can't stand from being fall-down-giggly drunk."

Rachel flushed red as the forgotten memory flooded back into her brain.

"And no-one needs to mention where said fall-down-giggly drunk's hands wondered to during aforementioned carrying." Kurt added as he tried to hide his smirk.

"Oh god." Rachel mumbled as she hid her face in her hands, the sounds of her friend's laughter floating around the room as the diva threw a cushion at them and tried to forget her handsy drunk persona. She was never going to live this down.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N – Drawing to a close now, there will probably be one more chapter after this one to wrap up things with Rachel's Dads. But for the time being here's more Finn…(and/or Finn bashing)**

It was two days after the party before Rachel answered one of the calls from Finn, she had been determined to wait for longer but she couldn't take the tension it was causing between the glee club and she knew it was causing more than a few arguments in the Hudson-Hummel home as well. Santana had tried to stay as neutral as possible which wasn't easy, she didn't want to pile any more pressure on her girlfriend, but it didn't mean she was happy at the prospect of having to see Finn so soon.

The plan that had eventually been set up was by no means conventional, Santana didn't want Rachel meeting Finn alone so she had insisted she come along too but then Finn had decided he didn't want to be out-numbered so he had insisted that if Santana was going to come then Kurt would too. So at four o'clock on a Thursday afternoon Santana found herself sat in the Lima Bean with Rachel scowling at Finn, Finn glaring at her and Kurt looking as though all the drama was going to make him explode.

"Well, this is pleasant." Santana quipped as she took a sip of drink.

Although Kurt smirked, Rachel seemed less impressed and with a gentle nudge the diva mumbled, "Play nice."

"She can't." Finn interjected, his next words cut off by a shove from Kurt and a glare from Rachel.

Santana had to admit, as another silence descended on the table, that maybe having Kurt as a peacekeeper was a good idea. Although retrospectively it would have made more sense to call in the whole club because it seemed like this meeting was already a bust. It was Rachel who finally broke the hush, her voice low as she looked at her ex-boyfriend, "Look we agreed to meet you but if you're only here to insult Santana then I don't think we should stay. I'm not going to sit and listen to you bad-mouth my girlfriend."

Finn clenched his jaw at the use of the word girlfriend but seemed to contain whatever it was he wanted to retorted with, instead he shot Santana a knowing look as he muttered, "Do you know what your girlfriend has been doing behind your back?"

Both girls frowned as they shared a confusion look, and Rachel shook her head as she looked back to Finn, "What are you talking about?"

"I know you think I'm just saying this because I'm jealous or whatever but I saw her." He spat as he pointed angrily to Santana, "With Brittany and they looked more than a little friendly if you catch my drift."

"Okay, what?" Santana barked as she slammed her cup back down on the table.

Finn sneered, "Don't play stupid, I saw you and her sitting in a coffee shop and you were all over each other."

Santana felt her eyes widen at the accusation, spinning in her chair to face Rachel the Latina shook her head. She couldn't believe Finn would stoop so low as to accuse her of cheating on her girlfriend but the part that panicked her the most was the suspicious look Rachel was now casting her way, Santana was only to aware of her reputation as being more than little promiscuous but there was no way that she would do that to Rachel. Gripping one of the smaller girls hands she managed to choke out, "He is lying Ray, you have to believe me."

"So you weren't hanging out with Brittany then?" Finn asked, his words dripping with double meaning.

"Well, yeah I was…" Santana replied honestly, she could feel herself getting flustered but she managed to get her raging fear under control as she added, "But you knew that. Rachel, I told you I was going to see her. I didn't hide that from you."

"Just the parts were you were throwing yourself at her."

Santana growled as she slammed her hand down on the table, her action making the others jump, "I wasn't. I don't know what you think you saw Finnocence, but I would never cheat on Rachel. Ever. And you have no right to come here and accuse me off it."

"I have every right." Finn barked back, his gaze alternating between the two girls before settling on Rachel. Leaning towards his ex-girlfriend he said, "We both know what she is like Rachel. I mean come on; this is Santana we're talking about."

Santana felt her heart plummet at the words, she hated everything her reputation brought her. People only ever saw her as a bitch, the girl who insulted people and caused chaos for fun, used people for her own means and couldn't keep it in her pants. She knew that most of the student body, and probably a lot of the teachers, thought pretty lowly of her but having Finn use her labelling against her to break up the one good thing she had in her life cut deep. Holding back the tears that threatened to fall Santana managed to force herself to look at Rachel, she prepared herself for the hate and the anger that was about to come her way but when she finally locked eyes with the small girl she felt as though all the air had been crushed from her lungs.

Rachel looked more than angry; in fact Santana had never seen the singer look so angry at anything before. But the weird thing was Rachel still had a hold of her hand, in fact she was clutching at it desperately as she seemed to struggle for the words she wanted.

In an instant though, the diva snapped her attention to Finn her voice ringing fiercely as she let rip, "No, we do not both know what she is like. I know what Santana is like because I, unlike you, have taken the time to see the person underneath all the stupid gossip and labels. You do not get to come in here and start throwing stupid lies around, you do not get to come in here and insult my girlfriend and try and destroy the best thing to come into my life in a long time."

Santana felt her jaw drop as she watched Rachel verbally tear Finn down; no-one had ever believed her side of a story before. She was so used to everyone assuming she was the one lying that it was almost impossible to believe that someone was actually picking her side. With a derisive shake of her head the Latina dismissed her thoughts, this was Rachel after all. Rachel. The girl who had been able to push past all of her barriers and insecurities to finally see the real person that had been buried under years of abuse and denial.

"We came here today, hoping that you were actually going to apologise for being so unbelievably horrible the other night. I thought that as soon as the alcohol had worn off and you had gotten over your embarrassment you would want to meet up and clear the air, not start accusing Santana of cheating on me."

Finn stuttered as he tried to compose him, "No. I mean- But…I saw her!"

He didn't sound as convinced by his own argument anymore and Santana could see him looking between the three people staring back at him.

Rachel huffed as she quickly stood from the table, her hand still linked with her girlfriend she gave Santana's arm a tug as she mumbled, "Come on, we should go. This is clearly a waste of time; if you insist on being so juvenile Finn then I think its best until we wait for you to grow up. Goodbye."

Santana was about to agree when Finn shouted, "No!"

Drawing the attention of most of the coffee shop he flushed red before gesturing for Rachel to sit again, when she did he continued, "You're right…look, I was a jerk the other night and yeah, afterwards I was embarrassed and I was going to try and avoid everyone but then I saw her Rachel, I saw Santana and Brittany together and I assumed-"

Rachel pursed her lips, "You shouldn't have assumed anything Finn, it's not your place."

"But I'm your friend." He replied sadly, his eyes downcast, "And it's not like Santana and Brittany don't have….history. I was trying to protect you."

Rachel sighed, her shoulders deflating "By acting like a total jerk?"

"I just- I don't want anyone else to hurt you. I know things between us ended badly and I know that I hurt you…You deserve someone who is going to treat you right."

"And Santana is that person." Rachel stated bluntly, "I know that's hard for you to accept, I know that all of this is a lot to take in but I am with her now, and if you can't accept that then I don't know what to do because when it comes down to it, I'm going to pick her. Everytime."

Santana couldn't help the huge smile that sprung up at her girlfriends words but she did feel a little sorry for the crushed expression the same words brought to Finn. If she was honest part of her enjoying seeing him put in his place, after all he had in the space of less than a week accused her of cheating on her girlfriend and of not being good enough, but she also reasoned that maybe a small part of his reaction was in some way justifiable from his perspective.

"Okay, I'm not saying I forgive you for the storm of crap you've rained down on us these last few days." Santana began, her eyes focused on Finn "But I do know that, I've given you more than enough of a reason to worry about why I'm with Rachel. I've pretty much been an uber-bitch for as long as you've known me but Rachel and I are serious, we're together and you can either deal with it or not that's your choice because either way we're still going to be a couple."

Rachel smiled as she gave her girlfriends hand a comforting squeeze before focusing on Finn and trying to gage his reaction.

Finn clenched his jaw as he looked between Rachel and Santana, he could feel Kurt watching him out of the corner of his eye but still the football player couldn't fight off his jealousy long enough to even pretend to be civil, looking to his ex-girlfriend he said, "I don't understand where all this is coming from Rachel. I thought you were in love with me."

"I was." Rachel replied tentatively, "Or I thought I was but the truth is Finn…we were never right together. I still want to be friends but-"

"Friends?" Finn spluttered, his face falling, "You're really going to give up on everything we had to be with her?"

Rachel shook her head in disbelief, "What we had was over long before Santana was even in the picture and I think if you're honest with yourself then you know that too."

"I…" Finn tried, his words failing him as he settling for a dejected sigh.

"I'm not giving up on everything we had Finn, we can still be friends but if you can't accept my relationship with Santana then perhaps it would be better if you and I stayed away from each other completely."

A tense quiet fell across the table as the three teens looked to Finn, for his part he simply gazed down at the table his fingers picking at the wood as he weighed his options. He didn't want to lose Rachel completely but he didn't know how he was supposed to be okay seeing her with someone else every day.

As the silence lingered Santana could feel her nerves beginning to fray. She knew that part of Finn was still in love with Rachel but she also knew that most of the boy's infatuation with the diva came when Rachel was involved with someone else. Finn seemed to have a habit of only realising how 'in love' with the girl he was when she was unavailable. Taking a deep breath Santana came to her own realisation, she did not want to spent the next part of her high school life dealing with Finn trying to get at her girl and she also didn't want to deal with him causing them and the club a whole mess of drama, she needed Finn to know they were serious and there was only one way to do that. Santana hated giving big emotional speeches but if that's what it took to make Finn back off and come to his sense then she would do it for her and Rachel.

With a determined stare she locked eyes with Finn as he finally managed to lift his gaze from the table, when he remained quiet Santana took the opportunity to speak, "I know you want to sit there and think that what Rachel and I have isn't real, but it is. Rachel is…the most amazing person I have ever met. She gave me a second chance and I am not going to screw that up because honestly…" Santana paused as she gathered her courage together, her eyes flicking to the smaller girl next to her as she continued, "I love her and I am not going to let anything get in the way of that. Not you, not my Dad…not the idiots back at McKinley. So you need to decide right now whether you are going to support us or carry on being a douche-bag and try to use your jealously to go against us because either way, I am not letting Rachel go without a serious fight and I will not hesitate to crack both of your nuts if you do something to try and break us up."

Santana glared at Finn, her confidence wavering as she felt Rachel tug at her hand.

"You love me?" Rachel whispered, her eyes wide as she twisted in her seat.

"I do." The other girl replied, a faint blush rising up her cheeks, "I love you."

With a huge smile Rachel bit her lip, "I love you too."

Santana resisted the urge to cheer and instead leant in and drew Rachel into a delicate kiss, still well aware of the two boys presence at the table she pulled back and gave her girlfriend a smile.

"Well…" Kurt said breaking the moment, "I think we can all see just how serious you two are."

Neither Santana nor Rachel missed the gentle encouragement in the boy's words but as they turned to Finn they wondered if he had taken Santana's speech as seriously.

Lifting his gaze from the table Finn frowned, "I…you're in love?"

"We are." Rachel said simply.

Finn nodded, his eyes flicking between the two girls he let out a small sigh, "Okay."

"Okay?" Rachel questioned, not entirely sure what to make of her ex-boyfriends monosyllabic response.

"I want you to be happy Rachel, even if it's not with me so if you think she's the one for you…if you love her, then I won't stand in your way." He replied sadly, "But I don't think we can be friends, at least not for a while anyway. I-I think one day…but not now…"

Rachel nodded as she watched Finn slowly pull himself up out of the chair, with one last look back he trudged away from the table with Kurt following. The smaller boy offered the girl's a wave as he followed his brother out of the shop.

Santana and Rachel sat in silence for a moment before Rachel let out a loud sigh and wrapped an arm around the taller girl's shoulder, leaning her head against her girlfriends shoulder she mumbled happily, "You love me."

Santana giggled as she pulled Rachel against her chest in a hug, her arms wrapping around the smaller frame as she replied, "Yeah well, you're pretty lovable and believe it or not I did kind of have this whole romantic evening planned out that led to me to dropping the L-bomb and it did not involve shouting it at Finn."

"It was perfect." Rachel argued immediately, "You're beautiful when you get all protective and fierce like that."

"I'll have to do it more often then." Santana joked, her huge smile on her face as she clung to the girl nestled in her arms, "Not that I plan you getting into any more situations where you need protecting. In fact, I'm thinking that when your Dads find out about us I might be the one who needs a bodyguard…"

Rachel sighed as she shook her head, "My Dads love you. It'll be fine, trust me."

Santana let out an unconvinced hum as she bit her lip.

"Look, we'll give them a few days to get over their trip and then after the weekend when they are all refreshed and happy we'll simply sit them down and tell them we're together, okay?"

"Okay." Santana agreed, already knowing she was going to spend the next few days worrying.

Rachel drew back slightly to look at her girlfriend, "And stop worrying so much. I promise I'll keep you safe whatever happens."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N – Here we go, last chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has followed this story, every review/alert/favourite means the world to me, I love knowing people are reading and hopefully enjoying my PezBerry efforts.**

**A huge thanks to SuperGleek18, OTHAngels, TrustinFaith, DaPhoenix, MusicandReadingLover and thesilentpath for taking the time to consistently offer reviews. (Sorry if I'm missing anyone out) You guys are all amazing! **

**And a special mention to ellowyntinuviel for being my muse and fan-girling over PezBerry/Santana all these weeks. I literally gained so many ideas and inspirations from our banter. You rule :D **

As Santana watched the last of the streetlights flicker on she wondered how the weekend had passed by so quickly. It only seemed like hours ago that she and Rachel had been sat in the Lima Bean facing off with Finn and now they were about to go downstairs to face Hiram and Leroy. Taking a deep breath she wiped her sweaty palms across her jeans and attempted to hide her nerves from her girlfriend, she knew Rachel would see straight though her façade but she hoped the false-confidence would at least give her some sense of calm.

"You look like you're about to be sick." Rachel said with a sympathetic smile as she crossed the room to stand behind her girlfriend as she stared out the window.

Santana chuckled as she felt the singer's arms slip around her waist and Rachel nuzzled against her back, "If I am, does that mean we don't have to do this?"

Rachel sighed as she let go, "You don't want my Dads to know about us?"

Spinning round the Latina shook her head as she wrapped her own arms around the smaller girls neck, "Of course I do. I just…"

"You what?"

"I'm scared, okay?" Santana breathed, her eyes fluttering closed as she inhaled Rachel's perfume.

Rachel frowned as she watched her girlfriend closely, she could see the tension written on the other girls face; the way her eyebrows were knitted together and her lips were pulled together in a tight line. When the Latina's eyes opened again Rachel could see the worry lingering below the surface and with a whisper she asked softly, "What are you scared of?"

"That…that they'll think I, I don't know…tainted you or whatever?" Santana sighed, cursing her inability to vocalise her feelings.

"Tainted me?" Rachel repeated, her mind rapidly trying to decipher her girlfriends words. She knew Santana was uncomfortable talking about whatever it was she was afraid of but she was also proud they had gotten to a point were Santana was willing to try and talk about it. Only a little while ago the Latina would have simply shrugged it off and refused to answer any questions. As the singer racked her brains something struck her, "You don't think my Dads are going to think you turned me gay do you?"

Santana didn't get a chance to answer before Rachel continued, the diva hurrying to calm what she thought her girlfriend was worried about, "Sweetie, they aren't going to think that-"

"That's not it." Santana interrupted, stopping Rachel before she began one of her trademark speeches, "I know they aren't going to think I turned you gay but what if they think I'm not good enough for you."

"San…" Rachel tried only to be cut off again.

"No, I'll not being stupid about this Ray. Look at me, I'm kind of trashy." Santana mumbled as she pulled back to gesture derisively at herself, "You're Dads want the best for you and I know they like me but I don't think they'll agree I'm good enough for you to date and I-I can't hear that from them. I just can't."

Rachel stepped forward, one arm around the other girl as she placed the other against the Latina's cheek, "My Dads want the best for me, they want me to be happy."

Santana nodded, her head resting against Rachel's hand as the smaller girls stoked her thumb against soft skin.

"I know that my Dads will support us. I know because they see how happy I am with you, how happy we are together." Rachel whispered, her body sheltering against her girlfriends taller frame, "Do you know what they said to me before they left the other day?"

Santana shook her head as she looked down at the smaller girl.

"They said I'm different when I'm around you." Rachel replied, raising an eyebrow as Santana tried to interrupt, "They said, I'm calmer…happier. You make me a better person Santana and everyone can see it."

Santana gaped at the words, no-one had ever even thought of her as being a good influence on anyone.

"And I swear to god, that if you ever even think of yourself as being 'trashy' again I will…as you like to say, end you." Rachel continued a comforting smile on her face as she gazed at her girlfriend. She knew Santana wasn't going to have the easiest of times getting over her negative view of herself but Rachel did know she would be there every step of the way, "You are a lot of things Santana; loyal, intelligent, talented and fiercely protective and believe me when I say those are all the things my Dads see in you too. You are an incredible person, my incredible person, and I want everyone to know it."

"I love you." Santana breathed, her words tumbling out of their own accord as she pulled Rachel tightly against her.

"And I love you too." Rachel smiled as she kissed the tip of the Latina's nose, giggling as she did so. "Now let's go down there before my Dad starts another one of his sci-fi marathons and we can't tear him away."

Santana nodded firmly, her nerves easing as she allowed Rachel to tug her out of the bedroom and downstairs. She could hear the vague sounds of the news playing from the television and as they entered the lounge they saw Hiram and Leroy casually sitting together as they watched. It struck Santana in that moment, that she loved the comfortable domesticity of the Berry's world – dinner's together and evenings as a family – something that had been missing for most of her life but something she hoped would become common place now she had Rachel.

"Dad, Daddy? Can we talk to you for a moment?" Rachel asked as she and Santana moved to stand by the television.

"Of course pumpkin." Hiram replied, clicking the television off with the remote and turning his full focus to the two girls. Leroy offered a smile as his eyes flicked between the two brunettes.

Rachel nodded, and with the confidence of a well-prepared speaker she launched into the announcement, "Santana has been staying here for a while now and she and I have become very close. It hasn't always been the easiest of times but we have formed a strong bond and-"

"If you are trying to tell us that you and Santana are dating, do you think you could do it before the news at ten?" Leroy quipped with a big smile as his husband chuckled.

"What?" Rachel and Santana shouted in unison as they cast confused glances between themselves.

"Sweetie, it's pretty obvious." Hiram said.

Rachel tilted her head as she tried to think of anything she, or they, had done in the past few days.

Leroy shook his head at his daughter's confusion, "Number one: You have both been smiling like crazy people since we got back."

"Number two." Hiram picked up, enjoying the game, "Santana got up at six to make you breakfast in bed and after a summer of living with her it's fair to say that Santana enjoys neither getting up early or cooking."

Santana had to laugh at that, she had attempted to make dinner for the Berry's on a regular basis but after her first attempt resulted in a near-miss fire she had resorted to anything that did not involve heat. However she had made an exception for Rachel the past Saturday when the diva had mentioned how busy her day was going to be.

"Number three and this is probably the one that cemented it for us." Leroy said, his face lighting up as he revealed, "We know Santana has been staying in your room Rachel, I came in to return your ipod-"

"I wondered where that was." Rachel murmured.

"And I saw you both huddled up together, much closer than friends would normally be." Leroy continued a blush on his cheeks as he turned to Santana, "It's kind of cute you let Rachel be the big spoon considering she's so little."

"We take it in turns." Santana revealed before she could stop, her cheeks flushing red as she heard herself.

"Good to know." Hiram joked.

"So, wait…you guys don't mind?" Rachel asked, her own cheeks tinged pink at the revelation her fathers had caught her and Santana sleeping.

Both men shook they heads, "Of course not. As long as you are with someone who makes you happy then we are happy, and I think it's fair to say that you two are perfect together."

Rachel smiled as she gently nudged her girlfriend and whispered, "Told you so."

Santana rolled her eyes but gave the smaller girl a smile.

Turning back to her fathers the singer added, "And…you don't mind that we may or maybe not have been sharing a bed?"

Hiram bit his lip as he thought about his answer, "Well your father and I would have preferred to know about you two officially before you started sleeping in the same room."

"Sorry." The two girls replied with guilty smiles.

"But I suppose as long as we can agree there will be no…funny business while your Dad and I are in the house then there's no problem." Leroy said.

"Dad!" Rachel screeched, her face bright red as she looked anywhere except at her fathers.

"I'm just saying." Leroy grinned, "Your walls may be soundproof but that doesn't mean-"

"Okay dad, we get…stop." Rachel whined, hold her hands to her ears to try and drown out the words and stem her embarrassment. "Seriously, stop."

"Give her a break." Hiram interrupted, thoroughly amused at the exchange.

Leroy shrugged as he held up his hands, "Okay, okay…but seriously, we're happy for you. Both of you."

"Thanks." Rachel beamed as she bounced over to the couch to draw her Dads into a hug, with her arms wrapped around both of them she managed to swivel her head enough to look at Santana with a huge smile, before she could say anything though Leroy had snuck out of her embrace and made his way over to the Latina.

Wrapping his big arms around Santana he smiled as she return the hug, dropping his voice so the two on the couch couldn't hear he whispered, "I guess you found your girl after all, huh?"

"I guess I did." Santana smiled as she remembered her declaration to Leroy in the kitchen, _I hope I can have that someday, meet a girl who actually loves me back and have a real family. _The Latina felt her heart beat faster at the thought, not only had she found someone to love and love her back but she felt that here, with the Berry's, she had a second chance at a family.

"This is cause for a celebration." Hiram said suddenly as he detangled himself Rachel and popped up from the couch. Shuffling out of the room the other three exchanged baffled looks as they waited for him to reappear. It took a few minutes but the smaller of the two Berry men re-entered the room with a glowing smile as he gestured to his family. "One copy of _The Wizard of Oz_, the traditional Berry film of choice, one pack of vegan-friendly popcorn is sitting happily in the microwave as I speak and of course….vegan-friendly, lactose-intolerant tolerable hot chocolate is prepped and ready to go!"

Leroy and Rachel clapped their hands together happily while Santana shot the man a bemused look, she loved the little traditions the family had and she loved that they included her and made her feel as though she had always been there.

Only a few minutes later the movie was playing and Leroy and Hiram were sat side by side on the couch as they sipped their hot chocolate while Rachel was sat on Santana's lap as they shared one of the big armchairs. Santana sighed happily as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting in her girlfriends lap and enjoyed the feeling of Rachel snuggling against her. She couldn't believe how different her life was now; she had gone from lonely nights at home worrying that over when her Dad would turn up to spending the evening watching DVD's with her Rachel and her Dads and knowing they would inevitably end up sing-a-long to every song that came along.

"You okay?" Rachel whispered as she lifted her head from Santana's shoulder.

Santana smiled as she reached out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her girlfriend's ear, "I'm more than okay."

Rachel sighed, as she placed a delicate kiss against Santana's temple, "I love you."

"I love you too."


End file.
